Aim: We investigated the roles of NO/NOS isoforms in the pathogenesis of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced gastric injury in mouse stomachs. Methods: Under urethane anesthesia, the celiac artery was clamped, and then reperfusion was established 30 min later by removal of the clamp. After a 60-min reperfusion, the stomach was examined for macroscopic lesions. Results: Following I/R, hemorrhagic lesions were generated in the mucosa, although ischemia alone caused no visible damage. Prior administration of L-NAME (a nonselective NOS inhibitor) significantly aggravated these lesions, in a L-arginine-inhibitable manner. By contrast, the selective iNOS inhibitor 1400W significantly prevented the occurrence of I/R-induced gastric lesions. The mucosal MPO activity was increased after I/R, and this response was enhanced and attenuated by prior administration of L-NAME and 1400W, respectively. Interestingly, the later treatment with L-NAME, given 10 min before reperfusion, significantly reduced the severity of the I/R-induced gastric damage, in a L-arginine-dependent manner. The expression of iNOS mRNA was up-regulated in the stomach following I/R, with an increase of mucosal NO content, and the NO production was significantly inhibited by both L-NAME and 1400W. Conclusion: Endogenous NO plays a dual role in the pathogenesis of IR-induced gastric damage; NO/cNOS is protective while NO/iNOS is proulcerogenic during I/R.

We examined the role of cysteinyl leukotrienes (CysLTs) in the gastric ulcerogenic response to ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) in mice. Experiments were performed in male C57BL/6J mice after 18-h fasting. Under urethane anesthesia, the celiac artery was clamped for 30 min, and then reperfusion was achieved by removing the clamp. The stomach was examined for lesions 60 min thereafter. The severity of I/R-induced gastric damage was reduced by prior administration of pranlukast [CysLT receptorOn the contrary, these lesions were markedly worsened by pretreatment with indomethacin, and this response was abrogated by the coadministration of TMK688 or pranlukast. The gene expression of CysLT 1 R but not 5-LOX was up-regulated in the stomach after I/R, but both expressions were increased under I/R in the presence of indomethacin. I/R slightly increased the mucosal CysLT content of the stomach, yet this increase was markedly enhanced when the animals were pretreated with indomethacin. The increased CysLT biosynthetic response to indomethacin during I/R was attenuated by TMK688. Indomethacin alone caused a slight increase of CysLT 1 R expression and markedly up-regulated 5-LOX expression in the stomach. We concluded that I/R up-regulated the expression of CysLT 1 R in the stomach; CysLTs play a role in the pathogenesis of I/R-induced gastric damage through the activation of CysLT 1 R; and the aggravation by indomethacin of these lesions may be brought about by the increase of CysLT production and the up-regulation of 5-LOX expression, in addition to the decreased prostaglandin production.

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We investigated the influence of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), an anti-tumor agent, on the healing of gastric lesions generated by 0.6 M HCl in rats and the effect of lafutidine, a histamine H(2) receptor antagonist, on the impaired healing. Animals fasted for 18 h were given 1 ml of 0.6 M HCl p.o., fed normally from 1 h later, and killed 1-96 h thereafter. 5-FU was given i.v. twice, 1 h and 24 h after the HCl. The gastric lesions healed spontaneously within 96 h. Although it decreased acid secretion, 5-FU markedly delayed the healing. Lafutidine, but not cimetidine, given p.o. immediately after each dosing of 5-FU significantly reversed the delay in healing by 5-FU, and this effect was attenuated by the chemical ablation of capsaicin-sensitive afferent neurons. Capsaicin also significantly reversed the delay in healing. The mucosal application of 50 mM HCl did not affect gastric mucosal blood flow (GMBF) in the normal stomach, but significantly increased it in the stomach damaged by 0.6 M HCl. The increases in GMBF were attenuated by 5-FU; however, the co-administration of lafutidine significantly restored the response. In addition, 5-FU inhibited both cell proliferation and migration in rat gastric epithelial cells (RGM1) in vitro. These results suggest that 5-FU delayed the healing of gastric lesions generated by 0.6 M HCl, probably through the inhibition of cell migration and proliferation, as well as the impairment of GMBF, and lafutidine reversed the delay in healing, mainly through the amelioration of the GMBF response mediated by capsaicin-sensitive afferent neurons.

These results suggest that enterobacteria played a major pathogenic role in this model of ischemic enteritis, and that iNOS/NO was deleterious in the pathogenesis of these lesions, while COX-2/PGE2 prevented the development of ischemic enteritis by activating EP4 receptors.

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