Effects of cimetidine and pentagastrin on surgical repair of gastric mucosa

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim of this work is to evaluate the repair of mucosal epithelium at the critical time of the beginning of reepithelization of sto mach wound. METHODOLOGY: Structural and ultrastructural evaluation of rat gastric mucos a repair was carried out with administration of placebo, cimetidine and pen tagastrin in different groups of rats (Rattus norvegicus albinus) during th e first 7 post-operative days. Following 48 hours of starvation and anesthe sia by ethyl ether inhalation, the animals were submitted to laparotomy exp osing the stomach. A fusiform gastric resection measuring 5mm in length was performed in the fundus stomach wall. The surgical wound was sutured in 2 plans: muscular tunic and visceral serosa. The abdominal wall was also sutu red in 2 plans: parietal serosa-abdominal musculature and skin. During 6 co nsecutive post-operative days, the placebo group rats received 1ml of disti lled water intragastrically; those of the cimetidine group 10mg/kg of cimet idine; and, animals of the pentagastrin group, 250 mu g/kg of pentagastrin by intraperitoneal injection. On the 7th post-operative day, rats were kill ed and fragments of the stomach wall containing transverse section of surgi cal wound were collected and processed for light microscopy and electron mi croscopies. RESULTS: At the beginning of gastric mucosal wound reepithelization cimetid ine has better effect than that of pentagastrin. CONCLUSIONS: Comparative mucosal morphology showed that cimetidine tends to accelerate the beginning of reepithelization of granulation tissue while p entagastrin delays reepithelization due to alteration of protective mucus a nd a provoking increase of granulation tissue.