K. Seno et al., CIGARETTE-SMOKE INCREASES GASTRIC-ULCER SIZE IN PART BY AN ANGIOTENSIN II-MEDIATED MECHANISM IN RATS, Digestive diseases and sciences, 42(1), 1997, pp. 74-78
To assess the mechanism of the effect of cigarette smoke on ulcer dise
ase we employed a rat model in which cigarette smoke increases the siz
e of acetic acid-induced gastric ulcer and decreases the hyperemia at
the ulcer margin. We postulate that cigarette smoke increases angioten
sin II (a vasoconstrictor) in ulcer tissue. Since direct measurement o
f angiotensin II in small tissue samples is problematic, we compared t
he messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) for its precursors (angiotensinog
en and renin) in ulcer and normal gastric tissue. We also evaluated th
e effect of enalapril, which blocks the conversion of angiotensin I to
angiotensin II on ulcer size. In the ulcer tissue, cigarette smoke pr
oduced a significant increase in mRNA for angiotensinogen but not for
renin. Enalapril decreased the size of the gastric ulcer in rats expos
ed to cigarette smoke. The data support the possibility that in ulcer
tissue cigarette smoke stimulates an angiotensin II-mediated mechanism
, which may in part be responsible for the impairment of ulcer margin
hyperemia and aggravation of ulcer size.