Effects of adrenalectomy on serotonin-, somatostatin-, and gastrin-immunoreactive cells in rat gastrointestinal tract

The effects of bilateral adrenalectomy on theserotonin-, somatostatin-, and gastrinimmunoreactivecells in the rat gastrointestinal tract were studiedfour weeks after surgery. Body weight was reduced and the small intestine shorter inadrenalectomized animals compared with controls, whileno changes were found in the histology of the mucosa. Inthe adrenalectomized animals the number ofserotonin-immunoreactive cells was increased in the cecum and largeintestine, while the somatostatin-immunoreactive cellswere decreased in number in the antrum and increased inthe corpus, cecum, and large intestine. Thegastrinimmunoreactive cells in the antrum were not affected innumber, but their nuclear size was enlarged, possiblyindicating increased cellular activity.