Chronic ethanol feeding alters the epithelial cell proliferation and apoptosis in rat gastric mucosa

We developed a chronic drinking rat model to investigate the long-term effects of ethanol feeding on cell proliferation and apoptosis in rat stomach. Adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats received either an isocaloric control or drinking water containing 6% (v/v) ethanol as their only water intake for 1, 3, 7, 14 and 28 days. At the end of each feeding period, animals were sacrificed and the stomach was dissected for the sample preparation. The cell proliferation and apoptosis in gastric mucosa of rats in different groups were analyzed by flow cytometer, immunohistochemistry and computer image analysis. In the flow cytometric study, compared with the control, the cell apoptosis in gastric mucosa of the rats was enhanced during the exposure to the ethanol in 3rd to 28th day. Otherwise the cell proliferation was increased in 3rd to 14th days, and decreased in 28th days, respectively. The results were confirmed by immunohistochemistry and computer image analysis studied. This finding suggested that short-term chronic adequate alcohol intake may enhance the cell turnover of gastric mucosa. Long-term stimulus with the low concentration ethanol may cause the impairment of the cell turnover function of the gastric mucosa and may be one of the mechanisms underlying the gastric pathology associated with alcohol abuse.