Plasma and gastric mucosal endothelin-1 concentrations in patients with peptic ulcer.
Peptic ulcer in the human stomach causes localized destruction of the gastric wall, which may be associated with focal vascular insufficiency. Endothelin-1, an extremely potent vasoconstrictor peptide, modulates regional blood flow in the vasculature of stomach, suggesting a role for endothelin-1 in peptic ulcer. We examined the relationship among endogenous plasma and mucosal endothelin-1 concentrations and the severity and area of ulcer in 19 patients with gastric ulcers and eight healthy adults. Endothelin-1 concentrations were measured by enzyme immunoassay in plasma and gastric mucosal specimens from ulcer margins, corpus, and antrum. The severity and area of ulcer were assessed endoscopically. Plasma endothelin-1 concentrations in active (P < 0.01 compared with normal) and healing (P < 0.05) stages of ulcer were significantly greater than those in normal subjects. Plasma endothelin-1 concentrations, but not mucosal endothelin-1 concentrations in the ulcer margin, were significantly associated with the severity of the ulcer. There was a significant positive correlation between plasma endothelin-1 concentrations and area of ulcer (r = 0.70, P < 0.01). In conclusion, locally increased endothelin-1 may be an important mediator contributing to the pathogenesis of peptic ulcer.
Masuda
E
E
Department of Gastroenterology, Osaka Rosai Hospital, Japan.
Kawano
S
S
Michida
T
T
Tsuji
S
S
Nagano
K
K
Fusamoto
H
H
Kamada
T
T
D000328:Adult; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010437:Peptic Ulcer / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
D019332:Endothelin-1