INCREASED CAPILLARY ENDOTHELIAL LEAKAGE IN PORTAL HYPERTENSIVE GASTRIC-MUCOSA - FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPY IN CCL4-INDUCED CIRRHOTIC RATS

Since portal hypertension affects the gastric mucosa, leading to conge stive gastropathy and thus to increased incidence of bleeding, it is o ne of the possible causes of increased permeability of gastric mucosal capillaries. The aim of this study was the quantitative assessment of the permeability of the gastric mucosal endothelial cells. Eight CCl4 -induced cirrhotic rats and eight matched controls were subjected to i .v. injection of FITC-albumin, and a morphometric evaluation of fluore scence in serial histological sections of the gastric mucosa was perfo rmed by a video image analysis system. Fluorescence was found to be 0. 351 +/- 0.01% of the area scanned in experimental animals versus 0.073 +/- 0.005% in controls, i.e. it was significantly increased by the tr eatment, which implies a significant endothelial leakage into the extr avascular space.