Probable role of both sulfhydryls and prostaglandins in gastric mucosal protection induced by S-adenosylmethionine.

The role of both sulfhydryl groups and endogenous prostaglandins in the protective effect of S-adenosylmethionine against ethanol-induced gastric mucosal damage was studied in rats. Drugs were administered subcutaneously or intragastrically to fasted rats 30 or 60 min before 100% ethanol (1 ml/rat), and mucosal lesions were measured planimetrically 1 h later. The gastric mucosal protection given by S-adenosylmethionine or by 20% ethanol (adaptive protection) was significantly diminished by pretreatment of rats with the sulfhydryl blocker iodoacetamide or with the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin. The protective effect of S-adenosylmethionine could be totally abolished only by pretreatment with the combination of iodoacetamide and indomethacin. Our present data suggest that endogenous release of prostaglandins and sulfhydryl groups may play a role in the protective actions of both S-adenosylmethionine and 20% ethanol (adaptive protection) against ethanol-induced gastric mucosal damage.