Irsogladine maleate may preserve gastric mucosal hydrophobicity against ethanol in phospholipids independent way in rats.

Irsogladine maleate (IM) has been used as a mucosal protective agent, whose action is partially explained as enhancement of mucosal blood flow, increase of cellular cyclic AMP and facilitation of gap-junctional intercellular communication. Effect of IM on rat gastric mucosal hydrophobicity, one of the mucosal barrier properties, was investigated, in comparison with that of 16,16-dimethyl prostaglandin E2 (dmPGE2). IM alone had no effect on mucosal hydrophobicity and mucosal phospholipids content. dmPGE2 alone did not change mucosal hydrophobicity significantly, but remarkably increased mucosal surface-active phospholipids. Intragastric administration of absolute ethanol significantly decreased gastric mucosal hydrophobicity and mucosal phospholipids content. IM could prevent the decrease in mucosal hydrophobicity by ethanol, maintaining the surface mucus gel layer and mucosal surface phospholipids almost as non-damaged control levels, whereas dmPGE2 also prevented the decrease in mucosal hydrophobicity by ethanol, with the surface epithelium being partially exfoliated and mucosal surface-active phospholipids showing remarkable enhancement. These results suggest that IM may preserve gastric mucosal hydrophobicity against ethanol, not through enhancement of mucosal phospholipids content like prostaglandin, but possibly through its reported stabilization action to the epithelial cell lining, which may preserve the surface epithelium with the mucous gel layer containing surface-active phospholipids, a possible origin of mucosal hydrophobicity.