Increasing action of teprenone, a new antiulcer agent, on high-molecular-weight glycoprotein in gastric mucus during the healing process of acetic acid-induced ulcer in rats.

The effects of teprenone on quantitative changes in gastric mucus glycoprotein during the healing process of acetic acid-induced ulcer in rats were investigated in comparison to those of cimetidine and proglumide. When estimated on the 15th day after operation, teprenone (50 and 100 mg/kg X 2/day, p.o.) significantly decreased the ulcer index by approx. 30%. On the other hand, cimetidine (100 mg/kg X 2/day, p.o.) and proglumide (500 mg/kg X 2/day, p.o.) did not significantly affect it. The high-molecular-weight glycoprotein (HMG, molecular weight of 2 X 10(6) or more) concentration in the gastric mucus of the control group (non-medicated ulcer rats) was 48.7% lower than that of the normal group (non-medicated rats without ulcer). On the contrary, the lower-molecular-weight glycoprotein (LMG, molecular weight between 5 X 10(5) and 2 X 10(6)) concentration of the control group was 95.3% higher than that of the normal group. Teprenone (at both doses) remarkably increased the concentration and secretion of the HMG. In contrast, those of the LMG were decreased by this drug. Cimetidine significantly decreased both the concentration and secretion of the total glycoprotein (HMG + LMG). Proglumide showed only slight increases in the concentration and secretion of the HMG, although it pronouncedly increased the total glycoprotein secretion. These results indicate that teprenone may strengthen the defensive force of gastric mucosa by increasing the HMG with a polymeric structure. In contrast, cimetidine may weaken the mucosal defense.