Gastrointestinal damage induced by platelet-activating factor: role of leukotrienes

The role of leukotriene synthesis in the gastrointestinal damage induced by platelet-activating factor (PAF) was examined in the rat. The effects of a 20-min infusion of PAF (100 ng/kg per min) on leukotriene B4 (LTB4) and leukotriene C4 (LTC4) synthesis were examined in samples of the stomach, duodenum, jejunum, ileum and colon. Administration of PAF resulted in marked hemoconcentration and extensive hemorrhagic damage which was only observed in the corpus region of the stomach and in the small intestine. However, LTB4 synthesis was increased significantly in all regions studied, while LTC4 synthesis was increased significantly only in the duodenum. Pretreatment of the rats with dexamethasone significantly reduced the PAF-induced increase in LTB4 synthesis in all tissues studied. However, a reduction of PAF-induced damage following dexamethasone treatment was observed in the small intestine, but not the stomach. To further investigate the role of leukotrienes as mediators of PAF-induced gastrointestinal damage, the effects of a 10-min infusion of PAF (100 ng/kg per min i.v.) were compared to those of similar infusions of LTB4, LTC4 or leukotriene D4 (LTD4) (0.3-3 micrograms/kg per min). None of the doses of leukotrienes tested produced hemoconcentration or gastrointestinal damage comparable to that observed with the much lower dose of PAF, with the single exception of significant hemoconcentration observed with the highest dose of LTC4. The results of this study therefore suggest that leukotrienes are unlikely to play a major role as mediators of PAF-induced gastrointestinal damage in the rat.