Enterochromaffin-like cell
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Overview
Enterochromaffin-like cells or ECL cells are a type of neuroendocrine cells found in the gastric glands of the gastric mucosa beneath the epithelium, particularly in the vicinity of parietal cells. They are also considered a type of enteroendocrine cell.[1]
Function
ECL cells synthesize and secrete histamine being stimulated by the hormones gastrin, acetylcholine and pituitary adenylyl cyclase-activating peptide.
Gastrin is transferred from a specific type of G cell in the gastric epithelium to the ECL cells by blood. Histamine and gastrin act synergistically as the most important stimulators of hydrochloric acid secretion from parietal cells and stimulators of secretion of different pepsins from oxyntic cells.
Enterochromaffin-like cells also produce pancreastatin and probably other peptide hormones and growth factors.
Pathology
A prolonged stimulation of these cells causes their hyperplasia. This is especially important in gastrinoma (the tumors in which there is an excessive secretion of gastrin), as this is one of the factors contributing to Zollinger-Ellison's syndrome. It was once believed that tumors of ECL origin form after a prolonged inhibition of gastric acid secretion, however there is no data to support this conclusion and proton pump inhibitors are not thought to contribute to gastric cancer.
Name
The name is derived from their location in the enteric system and their chromaffin-like staining pattern in histologic sections, which is characterized by silver staining.
References
See also
Digestive system, physiology: gastrointestinal physiology | |
|---|---|
| Enteric nervous system | Meissner's plexus - Auerbach's plexus |
| Exocrine | Chief cells (Pepsinogen) - Parietal cells (Gastric acid, Intrinsic factor) - Goblet cells (Mucus) |
| Endocrine/paracrine | G cells (gastrin), D cells (somatostatin) - ECL cells (Histamine) - enterogastrone: I cells (CCK), K cells (GIP), S cells (secretin) |
| Border | Brunner's glands - Paneth cells - Enterocytes |
| Fluids | Saliva - Bile - Intestinal juice - Gastric juice - Pancreatic juice |
| Processes | Swallowing - Vomiting - Peristalsis (Interstitial cell of Cajal) - Migrating motor complex - Borborygmus - Gastrocolic reflex - Segmentation contractions - Defecation |
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
