Background/aims: Several studies have shown that polymorphonuclear neutrophil leukocyte (PMN) margination is an early and critical event in the pathogenesis of gastric mucosal injury caused by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha is a proinflammatory cytokine that causes PMN margination by up-regulating expression of adhesion molecules on both PMN and endothelial cells. This study investigated whether substances that modulate TNF synthesis and release influence PMN margination and indomethacin-induced gastric damage.
Methods: Rats were treated with several doses of indomethacin alone or in association with substances known to increase (interleukin 2 and lipopolysaccharide) or inhibit (pentoxifylline, dexamethasone, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor [G-CSF]) TNF synthesis and release.
Results: Indomethacin administration caused dose-dependent damage and increased PMN margination and plasma TNF concentrations. Pretreatment with interleukin 2 and lipopolysaccharide significantly increased TNF release, PMN margination, and gastric mucosal damage, but administration of dexamethasone, pentoxifylline, and G-CSF provided almost total protection. The administration of G-CSF alone caused a significant increase in gastric PMN margination but protected against the indomethacin-induced gastropathy.
Conclusions: Agents that regulate TNF synthesis and release influence gastric susceptibility to indomethacin by modulating PMN margination. G-CSF increased PMN infiltration but protected against the mucosal injury, suggesting that PMN margination alone is not sufficient to induce mucosal damage.