ABSTRACT
Objective: To investigate the changes of TFF2 and TFF3 expression in sublingual gland during spontaneous healing of experimental gastric ulcer in rats. Methods: A total of 48 male SD rats were divided into gastric ulcer group (n = 42, ulcers were induced by injection of acetic acid to the submucosal of paries anterior gastricus) and normal group (71 = 6). Immunohistochemical and RT-PCR methods were used to examine the expression of TFF2 and TFF3 in the sublingual gland in gastric ulcer group and normal group. Results: Immunohistochemical staining showed that positive signals of TFF2 and TFF3 were mainly located in the striated duct, intercalated duct, myoepithelial cells, and some lumens. Compared with the control group, the integrated optical density (IOD) value of TFF2 was obviously increased on day 1 after gastric ulcer(P<0.01), and reached the bottom on day 2, then gradually increased again on day 4, 6 (P<0.01), and kept at a high level during day 10-23 (P<0.05). The IOD value of TFF3 was similar to that of the normal group on day 1, 2 after gastric ulcer, then gradually increased on day 4, 6 (P<0.05), reached the peak on day 10 after gastric ulcer (P<0.01), and kept at a high level till day 23 after gastric ulcer(P<0.05). The results of RT-PCR showed that the changes of TFF2 mRNA and TFF3 mRNA were basically consistent with the change of their corresponding peptides. Conclusion: TFF2 and TFF3 expression is increased in the sublingual gland during the spontaneous healing of experimental gastric ulcer in rats, and they may participate in the healing process.