Biliary decompression reduces the susceptibility to ethanol-induced ulcer in jaundiced rats.

We investigated the gastric response to an ulcerogenic irritant and the change in gastric functions in an experimental rat model of obstructive jaundice, with or without biliary drainage. After biliary obstruction for 14 days, rats with ligated bile duct (BDL) were randomly divided into three groups: BDL group without biliary drainage, BDL followed by choledochoduodenostomy (CD) or a choledochovesical fistula (CVF). The gastric functions were evaluated 2 weeks after the surgery. Gastric damage, induced by orogastric administration of ethanol, was evaluated 30 min later using a lesion index and microscopic scoring was then performed on fixed stomachs. Basal gastric acid secretion was measured by the pyloric ligation method. The lesion index and maximum lesion depth did not differ in the BDL and sham groups, while they were significantly reduced in the CD group. Gastric acid output and secretory volume were reduced in the BDL group compared to the sham group, while these reductions were abolished in the CD group. Afferent denervation with capsaicin further reduced the ulcer index in the later group. Our data suggest that gastric mucosal susceptibility to injury is dependent on the normal flow of bile into the duodenal lumen, which appears to be a requirement for adaptive gastric cytoprotection.