Evaluation of cytoprotection against ethanol-induced injury in gastric mucosa pretreated with misoprostol, cimetidine, or placebo.

The authors have developed a primate model for evaluating cytoprotection against alcohol-induced injury in gastric mucosa pretreated with antiulcer agents. In the present study, groups of squirrel monkeys received either a single oral dose of misoprostol (500 or 200 micrograms/kg), cimetidine (3 or 6 mg/kg), placebo, or no treatment. After 30 min, 1 ml of 50% ethanol was administered to all animals, except for one of two untreated controls. At 90 min, stomachs from lethally anesthetized primates were processed for scanning electron and quantitative stereoscopic microscopy. Fifty percent ethanol alone damaged epithelial cells and produced submucosal hemorrhagic lesions. Pretreatment with misoprostol limited alcohol-induced injury to superficial erosion of epithelial cells. Cimetidine did not protect the mucosa against ethanol-induced injury. We conclude that misoprostol-conferred cytoprotection in primate gastric mucosa correlates with the endoscopic findings by others that misoprostol, but not cimetidine, protected human stomach against alcohol-induced injury.