Journal: American Journal of Physiology - Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology

Article Title: Novel mechanisms and signaling pathways of esophageal ulcer healing: the role of prostaglandin EP2 receptors, cAMP, and pCREB

doi: 10.1152/ajpgi.00177.2014

Figure Lengend Snippet: Misoprostol accelerates esophageal ulcer healing and stimulates angiogenesis. Rats were treated intragastrically twice daily with either 50 μg/kg misoprostol or its vehicle for 3 or 6 days starting 3 days after ulcer induction. A: ulcer healing dynamics. Ulcer area was measured by a computerized video analysis of the ulcer images. The results are expressed as a percentage of ulcer area at day 3. Misoprostol treatment significantly reduced ulcer area, reflecting increased esophageal ulcer healing in rats. B: microvessel density in granulation tissue at the ulcer base. The results are expressed as the number of microvessels per square millimeter of granulation tissue section (n/mm2). Misoprostol treatment significantly increased microvessel density (reflecting angiogenesis) in granulation tissue at the esophageal ulcer base. C: proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) labeling index (LI) in the epithelium at the ulcer margin. The results are expressed as the percentage of increase in the number of labeled cells in the epithelium of the ulcer margin over the number of labeled cells in the epithelium distant from the ulcer. Misoprostol treatment slightly increased epithelial cell proliferation at the esophageal ulcer margin. NS, not significant. Values are means ± SD. For each column (n = 6).

Article Snippet: The ulcer area was measured using a computerized video analysis system (Image 1/FL; Universal Imaging, Westchester, PA).

Techniques: Labeling