ETHANOL DAMAGE TO RAT GASTRIC-MUCOSA IS UNLIKELY TO BE MEDIATED BY ETHANOL

Abstract

During injury to the gastric mucosa, lysosomes become more fragile and lysosomal enzymes, which are activated at acid pH, leak into the surrounding environment. It is not clear whether these changes contribute to the mechanism of damage or are merely a secondary result of it. To test whether lysosomes modulate gastric mucosal damage, we pretreated rats with a lysosomal labilizing agent, Triton WR 1339 (1.5 g/kg) and histologically assessed mucosal damage in vivo after challenge with 30% ethanol. No significant differences were found in the length or depth of eroded mucosa: mean erosion length, Triton 23.9 +/- 6.6% vs. control 19.7 +/- 5.2%; mean depth (micron), Triton 19 +/- 4 vs. control 20..