Gastric mucosal inflammatory responses to Helicobacter pylori lipopolysaccharide: down-regulation of nitric oxide synthase-2 and caspase-3 by sulglycotide.

We applied the animal model of H. pylori lipopolysaccharide-induced gastritis to assess the effect of antiulcer agent, sulglycotide, on the mucosal inflammatory responses by analyzing the interplay between the activity of a key apoptotic caspase, caspase-3, epithelial cell apoptosis, and the expression of constitutive (cNOS) and inducible (NOS-2) nitric oxide synthase. H. pylori lipopolysaccharide applied intragastrically elicited within 4 days a pattern of mucosal responses resembling that of acute gastritis. This was accompanied by an 11.2-fold increase in epithelial cell apoptosis, a 6.5-fold induction in mucosal expression of NOS-2 and a 2.2-fold decline in cNOS, and a 5.4-fold increase in caspase-3 activity. Treatment with sulglycotide led to a 56.7% reduction in the extent of mucosal inflammatory changes elicited by H. pylori lipopolysaccharide and an 88.3% decrease in the epithelial cells apoptosis. Furthermore, this effect of sulglycotide was associated with a 51% decrease in mucosal expression of caspase-3 activity, a 73.7% decline in NOS-2, and a 64.1% increase in cNOS. The findings suggest that sulglycotide suppresses the H. pylori-induced mucosal inflammatory responses by up-regulating cNOS and interfering with the events propagated by NOS-2 and caspase-3. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.