Background & Aim
The peptic ulcer heals through a complex process, although the ulcer relapse often occurs several years later after healing. Our hypothesis is that even after visual evidence of healing of gastric ulceration, the regenerated epithelium is aberrant for an extended interval, increasing susceptibility of the regenerated epithelium to damage and further diseases.
Methods
Gastric ulcers were induced in mice by serosal topical application of acetic acid.
Results
Gastric ulcers induced by acetic acid visually healed within 30 days. However, regenerated epithelial architecture was poor. The gene profile of regenerated tissue was abnormal, indicating increased stem/progenitor cells, deficient differentiated gastric cell types, and deranged cell homeostasis. Despite upregulation of PDX1 in the regenerated epithelium, no mature antral cell type was observed. Four months after healing, the regenerated epithelium lacks parietal cells, TFF2 and SOX9 remain upregulated deep in the gastric gland, and the Na/H exchanger 2 (a TFF2 effector in gastric healing) remains downregulated. Gastric ulcer healing was strongly delayed in TFF2 knockout mice, and re-epithelialization was accompanied with mucous metaplasia. Following H. pylori inoculum 30 days after ulceration, we observed that the gastric ulcer selectively relapses at the same site where it was originally induced. Follow up at 8 months showed that the relapsed ulcer was not healed in H. pylori infected tissues.
Conclusion
These findings reveal that this macroscopically regenerated epithelium has prolonged abnormal cell distribution and is differentially susceptible to subsequent damage by H. pylori.