Abstract

Cellular Basis of Chemical Messengers in the Digestive System contains the proceedings of an international symposium on the cellular basis of chemical messengers of the digestive system held in Santa Monica, California, on January 16, 17, and 18, 1980. The papers explore the entire spectrum of problems related to the cellular aspects of chemical messengers in the digestive system, with emphasis on which amines and peptides serve these functions and in which neurons and endocrine-paracrine cells each kind of chemical messenger is found.
This book is comprised of 28 chapters divided into six sections and begins by considering the nature of gut peptides and their possible functions. The discussion then turns to the diffuse neuroendocrine system and the phylogeny of the gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine system. Methods such as immunocytochemistry, electron immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy autoradiography are then described. The following chapters focus on the function and morphology of endocrine-paracrine cells; immunochemical characterization of peptides in endocrine cells and nerves; Langerhans islets as the neuro-paraneuronal control center of the exocrine pancreas; and regulation of metabolism by gastroenteropancreatic peptides. The final section presents experimental results, including in vitro studies of canine pseudo-islets and of the mechanism of gastrin release.
This monograph will be of interest to physiologists and other practitioners in the field of medicine.