Effect of adrenalectomy on prostaglandin protection of the rat gastric mucosa.

Prostaglandins can prevent damage to gastric mucosa by agents such as Aspirin and ethanol, but their mechanism of action is not known. The authors examined the role of the adrenal gland in prostaglandin protection. Fifty, male Wistar rats were subjected to bilateral total adrenalectomy or sham operation. Adrenalectomized rats with circulating cortisol were discarded. After allowing 2 weeks for recovery, the authors measured the susceptibility of the gastric mucosa to injury by ethanol in an ex-vivo chamber of the entire stomach. This model permits the mucosa to be bathed by a series of solutions and the damage to be measured by planimetry. Mucosal damage was induced by applying 40% ethanol for 10 minutes. The prostaglandin used was 16,16-dimethyl prostaglandin E2 (10 micrograms) given for 10 minutes before the ethanol was introduced. The results show that mucosal damage from ethanol is consistently higher in the adrenalectomized rat but that adrenalectomy does not prevent protection by prostaglandin. The authors conclude that the mechanism of prostaglandin protection against ethanol injury is not corticosteroid-dependent.