Cigarette Smoke Increases Gastric Ulcer Size in Part by an Angiotensin II-Mediated Mechanism in Rats

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Abstract
To assess the mechanism of the effect ofcigarette smoke on ulcer disease we employed a rat modelin which cigarette smoke increases the size of aceticacid-induced gastric ulcer and decreases the hyperemia at the ulcer margin. We postulate thatcigarette smoke increases angiotensin II (avasoconstrictor) in ulcer tissue. Since directmeasurement of angiotensin II in small tissue samples isproblematic, we compared the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)for its precursors (angiotensinogen and renin) in ulcerand normal gastric tissue. We also evaluated the effectof enalapril, which blocks the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II on ulcer size.In the ulcer tissue, cigarette smoke produced asignificant increase in mRNA for angiotensinogen but notfor renin. Enalapril decreased the size of the gastric ulcer in rats exposed to cigarette smoke. Thedata support the possibility that in ulcer tissuecigarette smoke stimulates an angiotensin II-mediatedmechanism, which may in part be responsible for the impairment of ulcer margin hyperemia andaggravation of ulcer size.