Transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) has been shown to play a central role in wound healing. This
peptide has been detected in the stomach, but no information is available at present whether
TGF-beta 1 influences the healing of
gastric ulcers and whether the mucosal expression of
TGF-beta 1 changes in the course of this healing. In this study,
gastric ulcers were induced by serosal application of
acetic acid and
TGF-beta 1 or vehicle saline was injected twice into the subserosa around the
ulcer area, once immediately after
ulcer induction and two days later. Local application of
TGF-beta 1 led to significant acceleration of
gastric ulcer healing. Gastric blood flow at the
ulcer margin was significantly higher than that in the
ulcer crater but no significant difference was found in this flow between studied groups. Immunohistochemistry showed that the expression of
TGF-beta 1 reached the peak at day 2 and then declined in the course of healing. We conclude that
TGF-beta 1 accelerates
ulcer healing possibly by increasing the formation of granulation tissue and cell migration probably mediated by locally expressed
TGF-beta 1 but the healing effects of
TGF-beta 1 do not depend on the
vascular factor.