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Viscous fingering of HCl through gastric mucin.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Bhaskar, KR; Garik, P; Turner, BS; Bradley, JD; Bansil, R; Stanley, HE; LaMont, JT
Published in: Nature
December 1992

The HCl in the mammalian stomach is concentrated enough to digest the stomach itself, yet the gastric epithelium remains undamaged. One protective factor is gastric mucus, which forms a protective layer over the surface epithelium and acts as a diffusion barrier Bicarbonate ions secreted by the gastric epithelium are trapped in the mucus gel, establishing a gradient from pH 1-2 at the lumen to pH 6-7 at the cell surface. How does HCl, secreted at the base of gastric glands by parietal cells, traverse the mucus layer without acidifying it? Here we demonstrate that injection of HCl through solutions of pig gastric mucin produces viscous fingering patterns dependent on pH, mucin concentration and acid flow rate. Above pH 4, discrete fingers are observed, whereas below pH 4, HCl neither penetrates the mucin solution nor forms fingers. Our in vitro results suggest that HCl secreted by the gastric gland can penetrate the mucus gel layer (pH 5-7) through narrow fingers, whereas HCl in the lumen (pH 2) is prevented from diffusing back to the epithelium by the high viscosity of gastric mucus gel on the luminal side.

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Published In

Nature

DOI

EISSN

1476-4687

ISSN

0028-0836

Publication Date

December 1992

Volume

360

Issue

6403

Start / End Page

458 / 461

Related Subject Headings

  • Viscosity
  • Video Recording
  • Swine
  • Mucins
  • Hydrochloric Acid
  • General Science & Technology
  • Gastric Mucosa
  • Animals
 

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Bhaskar, K. R., Garik, P., Turner, B. S., Bradley, J. D., Bansil, R., Stanley, H. E., & LaMont, J. T. (1992). Viscous fingering of HCl through gastric mucin. Nature, 360(6403), 458–461. https://doi.org/10.1038/360458a0
Bhaskar, K. R., P. Garik, B. S. Turner, J. D. Bradley, R. Bansil, H. E. Stanley, and J. T. LaMont. “Viscous fingering of HCl through gastric mucin.Nature 360, no. 6403 (December 1992): 458–61. https://doi.org/10.1038/360458a0.
Bhaskar KR, Garik P, Turner BS, Bradley JD, Bansil R, Stanley HE, et al. Viscous fingering of HCl through gastric mucin. Nature. 1992 Dec;360(6403):458–61.
Bhaskar, K. R., et al. “Viscous fingering of HCl through gastric mucin.Nature, vol. 360, no. 6403, Dec. 1992, pp. 458–61. Epmc, doi:10.1038/360458a0.
Bhaskar KR, Garik P, Turner BS, Bradley JD, Bansil R, Stanley HE, LaMont JT. Viscous fingering of HCl through gastric mucin. Nature. 1992 Dec;360(6403):458–461.
Journal cover image

Published In

Nature

DOI

EISSN

1476-4687

ISSN

0028-0836

Publication Date

December 1992

Volume

360

Issue

6403

Start / End Page

458 / 461

Related Subject Headings

  • Viscosity
  • Video Recording
  • Swine
  • Mucins
  • Hydrochloric Acid
  • General Science & Technology
  • Gastric Mucosa
  • Animals