Importance of gap junction in gastric mucosal restitution from acid-induced injury

Evidence is accumulating that gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) plays an important role in the gastric mucosal defense system. This study was conducted to determine whether GJIC mediates a restitution process in gastric mucosa. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fasted and anesthetized. Gastric injury was induced by luminal perfusion with 0.2N HCl for 10 minutes. Mucosal integrity was continuously monitored by measuring the clearance of chromium 51-labeled ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, which was used for analysis of recovery from the injury. Perfusion with 0.25% octanol (OCT; inhibitor of GJIC) was started after acid injury to assess its effect on restitution. The effect of irsogladine (IG; activator of GJIC) was also tested. Gastric mucosal GJIC was immunohistochemically evaluated with monoclonal antibody gap junction protein (connexin 32). Recovery from acid-induced mucosal injury occurred rapidly when acid perfusion was discontinued (within about 60 minutes). OCT, which didn't cause any injury to normal gastric mucosa, significantly inhibited the restitution. IG reversed this inhibition in a dose-dependent manner. In an immunohistochemical study, OCT-induced damage of gap junction was demonstrated, but not after IG pre-treatment. These findings suggest that GJIC may play a critical role in restitution in rat gastric mucosa and that gap junction function may be one of the important factors for the mucosal defense system.