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Beneficial effect of a novel pentadecapeptide BPC 157 on gastric lesions induced by restraint stress, ethanol, indomethacin, and capsaicin neurotoxicity

  • Esophageal, Gastric, And Duodenal Disorders
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Abstract

Very recently, the integrity of capsaicin somatosensory neurons and their protection were suggested to be related to the activity in nociception of a newly discovered 15-amino acid peptide, BPC 157, shown to have strong beneficial effect on intestinal and liver lesions. Therefore, from this viewpoint, we have studied the gastroprotective effect of the pentadecapeptide BPC 157, on gastric lesions produced in rats by 96% ethanol, restraint stress, and indomethacin. The possible involvement of sensory neurons in the salutary actions of BPC 157 (10µg/kg, 10 ng/kg intraperitoneally) was studied with capsaicin, which has differential effects on sensory neurons: a high dose in adult (125 mg/kg subcutaneously, 3 months old) or administration (50 mg/kg subcutaneously) to neonatal animals (age of the 7 days) destroys sensory fibers, whereas a low dose (500µg/kg intraperitoneally) activates neurotransmitter release and protective effects on the mucosa. In the absence of capsaicin, BPC 157 protected gastric mucosa against ethanol, restraint, and indomethacin application. In the presence of neurotoxic doses of capsaicin, the negative influence of capsaicin on restraint, ethanol, or indomethacin lesions consistently affected salutary activity of BPC 157. However, BPC 157 protection was still evident in the capsaicin-treated rats (either treated as adults or as newborns) in all of these assays. Interestingly, after neonatal capsaicin treatment, a complete abolition of BPC gastroprotection was noted if BPC 157 was applied as a single nanogram-regimen, but the mucosal protection was fully reversed when the same dose was used daily. In line with the excitatory dose of capsaicin the beneficial effectiveness of BPC 157 appears to be increased as well. Taken together, these data provide evidence for complex synergistic interaction between the beneficial effectiveness of BPC 157 and peptidergic sensory afferent neuron activity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. From the Center for Digestive Diseases, Medical and Veterinary Faculty, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

    Predrag Sikirić PhD, Sven Seiwerth PhD, Željko Grabarević PhD, Rudolf Ručman PhD, Marijan Petek PhD, Vjekoslav Jagić PhD, Branko Turković PhD, Ivo Rotkvić PhD, Stjepan Miše PhD, Ivan Zoričić MD, Miroslav Gjurašin MD, Paško Konjevoda MD, Jadranka Šeparović PhD, Danica Ljubanović MD, Branka Artuković MD, Mirna Bratulić MD, Marina Tišljar MD, Ljubica Jurina MD, Gojko Buljat PhD, Pavao Miklić PhD & Anton Marović PhD

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  1. Predrag Sikirić PhD
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  2. Sven Seiwerth PhD
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  3. Željko Grabarević PhD
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This study was subsidized by grants from Ministry of Science of Republic of Croatia and Pliva, Zagreb, Croatia.

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Sikirić, P., Seiwerth, S., Grabarević, Ž. et al. Beneficial effect of a novel pentadecapeptide BPC 157 on gastric lesions induced by restraint stress, ethanol, indomethacin, and capsaicin neurotoxicity. Digest Dis Sci 41, 1604–1614 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02087908

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