enterochromaffin-like cells

Definition : Enterochromaffin-like cells or ECL cells are a type of neuroendocrine cell found in the gastric glands of the gastric mucosa beneath the epithelium, in particular in the vicinity of parietal cells, that aid in the production of gastric acid via the release of histamine. They are also considered a type of enteroendocrine cell.

Endocrine cells of the gastric oxyntic mucosa, and especially the enterochromaffin-like cells (ECL), are the progenitors of gastrin-promoted proliferative lesions whose tumorigenic potential largely depends on the background condition in which they arise.

Originating from the histamine-containing enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells of the embryologic foregut, gastric carcinoid tumors represent approximately 1.8% of all gastric neoplasms and approximately 7% of all carcinoids.

Pathology

 agenesis of enterochromaffin-like cells
 enterochromaffin-like cell hyperplasia
 enterochromaffin-like cell tumors

• gastric carcinoid tumor