Chronic inflammation of the gastric epithelium is believed to induce mucosal changes that
can eventually develop into gastric cancer. In gastrin-deficient (G−/−) mice exhibiting chronic
inflammation in the hypochlorhydric stomach, we documented a prominent fundic mucous
cell lineage sharing morphological similarity with preneoplastic changes reported in
Helicobacter-infected mice. To study the identity and origin of this cell lineage, we screened
for different gastric mucosal cell markers. The clusters of large, foamy cells stained for trefoil …