Ethanol-induced cell damage in cultured rat antral mucosa assessed by chromium-51 release

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Abstract
We have developed an in vitro method for studying ethanol-induced injury to gastric mucosa using organ culture of rat antrum. Cell damage was assessed by measurement of the release of [51Cr] sodium chromate from preloaded cells, a method adapted from a standard immunologic technique. This system provided rapid and highly reproducible quantitation of tissue injury as assessed by51Cr release into the culture medium. The threshold concentration for ethanol-induced damage was between 10 and 15% v/v, similar toin vivo thresholds observed by others.51Cr release could also be induced by very short exposure to ethanol (5–15 min), and then continued despite ethanol removal. Interestingly, after continuous ethanol exposure, a plateau of maximum51Cr release was reached 60 min after exposure to ethanol over the concentration range 20–50%, suggesting tissue adaptation to ethanol damage. This organ culture system, which allows precise control of experimental conditions, may be useful for studying mechanisms of gastric mucosal injury and protection.