Chronic cytoprotection: pentadecapeptide BPC 157, ranitidine and propranolol prevent, attenuate and reverse the gastric lesions appearance in chronicalcohol drinking rats.

Unlike severe gastric damage acutely induced by ethanol administration in r at, the ulcerogenic effect of chronic alcohol administration (3.03 g/kg b.w . or 7.28 g/kg b.w.) given in drinking water, producing liver lesions and p ortal hypertension, is far less investigated. Therefore, focus was on the a ntiulcer effect of the gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157, GEPPPGKPADDAGLV, M .W. 1419, known to have a beneficial effect in variety of gastrointestinal lesions models (10 mug or 10 ng/kg b.w. i.p. or i.g.), ranitidine (10 mg/kg b.w. i.g.) and propranol (10 mg/kg b.w. i.g.) or saline (5 ml/kg b.w. i.p. /i.g.; control). They were given once daily (1) throughout 10 days precedin g alcohol consumption, (2) since beginning of alcohol drinking till the end of the study, (3) throughout the last month of alcohol consumption, 2 mont hs after alcohol drinking had been initiated. Gastric lesions were assessed , at the end of 3 months drinking [(1), (2)] or with respect to therapeutic effect of medication before medication or at the end of therapy. Pentadeca peptide BPC 157, ranitidine and propranolol may prevent gastric lesion deve lopment if given prophylactically, before alcohol drinking. Likewise, they attenuate the lesion appearance given once daily throughout the drinking pe riod. Importantly, when given therapeutically, they may antagonize otherwis e pertinent lesion presence in stomach mucosa of the drinking rats. Thus, t hese results demonstrate that pentadecapeptide BPC 157, ranitidine and prop ranol may prevent, attenuate or reverse the gastric lesions appearance in c hronically alcohol drinking rats, and may be used for further therapy, whil e the other studies showed that their effect (except to ranitidine) is para llel with their beneficial effect on liver lesion and portal hypertension. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.