Enterochromaffin-Like (ECL) Cell

Microscopic Anatomy and Ultrastructure

Enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells are argyrophilic, nonargentaffin histamine-producing cells localized in the oxyntic mucosa of the stomach where they represent about 40% of neuroendocrine cells. They were first described by Håkanson et al. in the 1960s in the oxyntic mucosa of rodents, and they were named “enterochromaffin (EC)-like (ECL) cell” due to their resemblance to EC-cells of the small intestine. Like other neuroendocrine cells of the gastrointestinal tract, ECL-cells are presumed to be of endodermal origin, but they are different from neuroendocrine cells of the gut and antral mucosa being independent of neurogenin-3 in their development. They are characteristically interspersed between neighboring cells in close proximity to the basement membrane of glands without contact with the lumen. They show either long thin processes or short processes extending between other epithelial cells of glands giving them a paracrine-like appearance. At...