Background: Aspirin is known to cause adverse effects, including gastric mucosal injury, and to retard gastric wound healing. Growth factors including hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF) and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) have been shown to play an important role in the repair of gastric mucosal injury.
Aim: To employ the cultured gastric epithelial cell model to elucidate the effects of aspirin, as well as several growth factors (HGF, EGF and IGF-I), on gastric wound repair.
Methods: Isolated rabbit gastric epithelial cells (92% mucous cells) were cultured in F-12 medium and formed a complete monolayer cell sheet in 48 h. A wound with a cell-free area of constant size (2 mm2) was then created and the wound repair process was monitored by measuring wound size every 12 h. Proliferating cells were detected by BrdU staining. Effects of aspirin (8 mM), HGF (10 ng/mL), EGF (10 ng/mL) and IGF-I (30 ng/mL) were assessed.
Results: Aspirin significantly retarded wound healing, but simultaneous addition of growth factors significantly accelerated wound repair compared with aspirin alone. Growth factors reversed the aspirin-induced inhibition of cell proliferation.
Conclusion: Growth factors, including HGF, EGF and IGF-I, reversed the aspirin-induced inhibition of wound repair through their cytoprotective effects on gastric epithelial cells.