Effect of proglumide on glycoprotein synthesis in aspirin-induced gastric erosions in rats.

The effect of proglumide on the rate of incorporation of (3H)-N-acetylglucosamine into glycoproteins (GP synthesis) in the glandular stomach in normal, fasting and aspirin-treated rats was studied. GP synthesis was significantly reduced by fasting. In Donryu rats, administration of aspirin (100 mg/kg) significantly decreased GP synthesis and induced the concurrent development of gastric erosions in the corpus, but not in the antrum, where no erosion was detected. Meanwhile, in Wistar rats little or no decrease of GP synthesis was observed in the glandular stomach and only slight erosions were found in the corpus. A negative linear correlation was found between the area of erosions and GP synthesis in the corpus of Donryu rats. Pretreatment with proglumide accelerated GP synthesis in the normal glandular stomach and restored the GP decrease caused by fasting. Gastric erosions induced by aspirin were also inhibited by proglumide and the GP decrease in the corpus was prevented. These results suggest that decreased synthesis of glycoproteins may be associated with the development of erosions induced by aspirin and that proglumide may partly exert its anti-erosive activity by stimulating glycoprotein synthesis in the glandular stomach.