the role of nitric oxide in stress-induced gastric damage in cholestatic rats

in this study the effect of nitric oxide synthesis inhibition on stress-induced gastric damage was evaluated in bile duel ligated, sham operated and unoperated rats. animals were injected intraperitoneally with ng-nitro-l-arginine methylester (l-name), 40 mglkg, l-argininc, 200 mg/kg or saline, 30 min before water-immersion stress. one hour after water immersion, the animals were killed and their stomachs were removed for measurement of gastric mucosal damage. tfie results showed that l-name significantly enhances the development of gastric mucosal lesion in sham operated and unoperated rats, while in bile duct ligated animals, l-name decreases and l-arginine enhances the potentiation of stress-induced gastric mucosal damage. the results suggest that inhibition of nitric oxide synthase with l-name has different effects on stress-induced gastric damage in cholestatic rats compared with normal animals.