Pericryptal fibroblast sheath in intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia and carcinoma of the stomach

To investigate the existence of pericryptal fibroblasts sheath (PCFS) in normal gastric mucosa, intestinal metaplasia (IM), indefinite for dysplasia (I-Dys), low grade dysplasia (L-Dys), high grade dysplasia (H-Dys) and gastric cancer (GC), and its association with gastric carcinogenesis. In this study, we examined the existence of PCFS in normal gastric mucosa (N=10), IM (N=26), I-Dys (N=16), L-Dys (N=13), H-Dys (N=21) and GC (N=145) using immunohistochemical staining for two smooth muscle markers, alpha smooth muscle actin(α-SMA) and high molecular weight caldesmon (h-CD). The significance of PCFS was discussed, especially in association with gastric carcinogenesis. The PCFS was recognized in 65.4%(17/26) of IM, 62.5%(10/16) of I-Dys and 23.1% (3/13) of L-Dys respectively. No PCFS was detected in H-Dys and GC. The PCFS was gradually reduced in IM, Dys and GC in sequence (P