Distinct gene expression in the stomach following stress and alcohol exposure

Two paradigms of acute stress in the rat were used to produce changes in the stomach. The first involved restraint stress combined with water immersion and the second utilized acute intragastric exposure to absolute ethanol. The mRNA expression of immediate early genes (IEG) such as c-fos, c-jun and NGFI-A, cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and heat shock proteins (HSP) 70 in the stomach were studied using in situ hybridization histochemistry. Upregulation of IEG and HSP70 mRNAs were observed in the smooth muscle cells of muscularis mucosae, muscularis externa and blood vessels in response to water immersion-restraint stress or intragastric application of absolute ethanol. In the restraint stress model, IEG (c-fos and NGFI-A) mRNAs were induced in the pit and isthmus of the mucosa, while in the ethanol exposure model, IEG (c-fos, c-jun and NGFI-A) and HSP70 mRNAs were upregulated in the damaged epithelium, especially surrounding the deep erosions. COX-2 mRNA was detected in surface mucous cells under desquamation. These distinct gene expressions in the mucosa indicate that the two stress paradigms produce different cellular responses. These data provide new insights into cellular mechanisms that occur during the pathogenesis of acute gastric mucosal lesions.