Changes of rat gastric mucus glycoproteins in cytoprotection: influences of prostaglandin derivatives.

The effects of two synthetic prostaglandin E derivatives on mucus glycoproteins in the stomachs of rats were evaluated. Neither derivative caused change in mucus glycoprotein content in the gastric corpus or antrum, but both increased the biosynthetic activity of mucus glycoproteins in these regions (about 15-30%). Furthermore, the effects of the pretreatment of these derivatives on conserving mucus glycoproteins in ethanol-induced gastric lesions were examined. Treatment with these derivatives 60 min prior to 70% ethanol administration markedly inhibits the decrease in gastric mucus glycoprotein content caused by 70% ethanol. But the glycoprotein content under these pretreatment conditions was significantly less (12-19%) than that in the control group without any drug treatment.