Department of Gastroenterology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
J Korean Med Sci. 2011 Feb;26(2):279-83. doi: 10.3346/jkms.2011.26.2.279. Epub 2011 Jan 24.
Corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) plays a major role in coordinating stress responses. We aimed to test whether blocking endogenous CRF activity can prevent the stress-induced dilation of intercellular spaces in esophageal mucosa. Eighteen adult male rats were divided into 3 groups: 1) a non-stressed group (the non-stressed group), 2) a saline-pretreated stressed group (the stressed group), 3) and an astressin-pretreated stressed group (the astressin group). Immediately after completing the experiments according to the protocol, distal esophageal segments were obtained. Intercellular space diameters of esophageal mucosa were measured by transmission electron microscopy. Blood was sampled for the measurement of plasma cortisol levels. Mucosal intercellular spaces were significantly greater in the stressed group than in the non-stressed group. Mucosal intercellular spaces of the astressin group were significantly smaller than those of the stressed group. Plasma cortisol levels in the stressed group were significantly higher than in the non-stressed group. Pretreatment with astressin tended to decrease plasma cortisol levels. Acute stress in rats enlarges esophageal intercellular spaces, and this stress-induced alteration appears to be mediated by CRF. Our results suggest that CRF may play a role in the pathophysiology of reflux-induced symptoms or mucosal damage.
促肾上腺皮质素释放因子（CRF）在协调应激反应中起着重要作用。我们旨在测试阻断内源性 CRF 活性是否可以防止应激引起的食管黏膜细胞间隙扩张。18 只成年雄性大鼠分为 3 组：1）非应激组（非应激组），2）盐水预处理应激组（应激组），3）astressin 预处理应激组（astressin 组）。根据方案完成实验后，立即获得远端食管段。通过透射电子显微镜测量食管黏膜细胞间隙直径。采集血液用于测量血浆皮质醇水平。应激组的黏膜细胞间隙明显大于非应激组。应激组的黏膜细胞间隙明显小于应激组。应激组的血浆皮质醇水平明显高于非应激组。astressin 的预处理有降低血浆皮质醇水平的趋势。急性应激会使大鼠食管细胞间隙扩大，这种应激诱导的改变似乎是由 CRF 介导的。我们的结果表明，CRF 可能在反流引起的症状或黏膜损伤的病理生理学中起作用。
