Background: Prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase/cyclooxygenase (COX) is the key enzyme in gastric mucosal protection and repair but its cellular localisation in the human stomach is still unclear.
Aims: To investigate immunohistochemically the cellular distribution of COX-1 and COX-2 proteins in the human stomach with or without gastritis or ulceration.
Patients and methods: Tissues were obtained by surgical resection of gastric ulcers associated with perforation (n = 9) or by biopsy from Helicobacter pylori positive patients with gastric ulcers (n = 45) and H pylori negative healthy subjects (n = 15). COX expression was detected by semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), western blotting, and light and electron microscopic immunohistochemistry.
Results: COX-2 mRNA and protein were detected in gastric ulcer tissues but not in intact gastric mucosa. COX-1 mRNA and protein were detected in the intact mucosa. COX-2 immunostaining was exclusively localised in macrophages and fibroblasts between necrotic and granulation tissues of the ulcer bed. The percentage of COX-2 expressing cells was significantly higher in open than in closed ulcers, and in gastritis than in gastric mucosa without H pylori infection. COX-1 immunoreactivity localised in lamina propria mesenchymal cells was similar in various stages of ulcer disease and in intact gastric mucosa. Electron microscopic immunohistochemistry revealed both COX-1 and COX-2 on the luminal surfaces of the endoplasmic reticulum and nuclear envelope of macrophages and fibroblasts.
Conclusions: Our results showed that COX-2 protein was induced in macrophages and fibroblasts in gastric ulcers and H pylori related gastritis, suggesting its involvement in the tissue repair process.