Immunocytochemical evaluation of gastric mucosal cathepsin D in peptic ulcer

The presence of cathepsin D was assessed in epithelial and stromal cells of the gastric mucosa in patients with ulcer disease depending on the course of ulcer healing, accompanying Helicobacter pylori infection, mode of treatment, location of ulceration, the presence of relapses, intestinal metaplasia, ulcer diameter, age and gender of the patients. The presence of cathepsin D was assessed by immunohistochemistry using an immunoenzymatic method StreptABC. Immunohistochemistry was performed on formalin-fixed paraffin sections obtained from 54 selected patients (20 men and 34 women, aged from 23 to 75 years), in whom endoscopy of the upper alimentary tract revealed ulcerations within the stomach, and then ulcer healing was monitored by endoscopy and histopathology. Before immunohistochemistry each specimen was routinely stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and histopathological study was performed to confirm a nonneoplastic character of ulcers, followed by staining with Giemsa method for the presence of Helicobacter pylori. The presence of cathepsin D was analyzed using image analysis. Student's t-test and a correlation coefficient were used to study the relationship between the expression of cathepsin D and selected parameters. The following significant relationships were observed: 1. between the expression of cathepsin D in epithelial cells and the course of peptic ulcer healing after antiulcerative treatment; 2. between the expression of cathepsin D in stromal cells after antiulcerative treatment and the course of ulcer healing.