Effects of cimetidine and pentagastrin on surgical repair of gastric mucosa.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this work is to evaluate the repair of mucosal epithelium at the critical time of the beginning of reepithelization of stomach wound.


METHODS
Structural and ultrastructural evaluation of rat gastric mucosa repair was carried out with administration of placebo, cimetidine and pentagastrin in different groups of rats (Rattus norvegicus albinus) during the first 7 post-operative days. Following 48 hours of starvation and anesthesia by ethyl ether inhalation, the animals were submitted to laparotomy exposing the stomach. A fusiform gastric resection measuring 5 mm in length was performed in the fundus stomach wall. The surgical wound was sutured in 2 plans: muscular tunic and visceral serosa. The abdominal wall was also sutured in 2 plans: parietal serosa-abdominal musculature and skin. During 6 consecutive post-operative days, the placebo group rats received 1 ml of distilled water intragastrically; those of the cimetidine group 10 mg/kg of cimetidine; and, animals of the pentagastrin group, 250 micrograms/kg of pentagastrin by intraperitoneal injection. On the 7th post-operative day, rats were killed and fragments of the stomach wall containing transverse section of surgical wound were collected and processed for light microscopy and electron microscopies.


RESULTS
At the beginning of gastric mucosal wound reepithelization cimetidine has better effect than that of pentagastrin.


CONCLUSIONS
Comparative mucosal morphology showed that cimetidine tends to accelerate the beginning of reepithelization of granulation tissue while pentagastrin delays reepithelization due to alteration of protective mucus and a provoking increase of granulation tissue.
Giovanoni
M
M
Department of Morphology, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Hayashi
C
C
Hayashi
H
H
Haapalainen
E
E
Geocze
S
S
D000818:Animals; D002927:Cimetidine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000473:pathology; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000473:pathology*; D006097:Granulation Tissue / Q000187:drug effects*; D006635:Histamine H2 Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D010418:Pentagastrin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects*
D006635:Histamine H2 Antagonists; D002927:Cimetidine; D010418:Pentagastrin