The effect of portal hypertension on expression of gastric mucin mRNA in rats.
OBJECTIVE
Gastric mucin, a principal component of gastric mucus, is thought to play an important role in protecting gastric mucosa and maintaining the homeostasis of the gastric mucosa. Our previous studies have demonstrated that the contents of gastric mucin were decreased in rats with portal hypertension. Thus, the purpose of this present study was designed to confirm the effect of portal hypertension on the expression of gastric mucin mRNA and to localize gastric mucin mRNA production site in rats.


METHODS
Portal hypertension was induced experimentally by partial ligation of the portal vein in Wistar rats. The severity of gastric mucosal lesions was evaluated macroscopically by a gross ulcer index. We simultaneously measured the levels of mRNA in the gastric tissues of control and portal hypertension rats by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, Southern blot hybridization, and in situ hybridization.


RESULTS
The damage to gastric mucosa was found to be prominently greater in the portal hypertension rats compared to the control (P < 0.01). The expression of mucin mRNA was significantly reduced in portal hypertension rats compared to the control using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Southern blot hybridization (both P < 0.01). In situ hybridization showed that mucin mRNA was localized primarily in the gastric submucosa and mucosa, particularly in the surface mucous and the gland mucous cells.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results reveal that portal hypertension would cause a decrease in mucin mRNA, and it would be helpful in understanding the mechanism of gastric mucosal mucin alteration in portal hypertension and the pathogenesis of portal hypertension gastropathy. Furthermore, it may provide the strategy in the prevention and therapy of portal hypertension gastropathy.
Wang
J Y
JY
Department of Surgery, Kaohsiung Medical College, No. 100, Shih Chuan 1st Road, Kaohsiung City 807, Taiwan. cy614112@ms14.hinet.net
Hsieh
J S
JS
Lin
S R
SR
Huang
T J
TJ
D000818:Animals; D005752:Gastric Mucins / Q000235:genetics*; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D006975:Hypertension, Portal / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
D005752:Gastric Mucins; D012333:RNA, Messenger