Duodenocutaneous fistula in rats as a model for "wound healing-therapy" in ulcer healing: the effect of pentadecapeptide BPC 157, L-nitro-arginine methyl ester and L-arginine.

While very rarely reported, duodenocutanenous fistula research might alter the duodenal ulcer disease background and therapy. Our research focused on rat duodenocutaneous fistulas, therapy, stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157, an anti-ulcer peptide that healed other fistulas, nitric oxide synthase-substrate L-arginine, and nitric oxide synthase-inhibitor L-nitro-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). The hypothesis was, duodenal ulcer-healing, like the skin ulcer, using the successful BPC 157, with nitric oxide-system involvement, the "wound healing-therapy", to heal the duodenal ulcer, the fistula-model that recently highlighted gastric and skin ulcer healing. Pressure in the lower esophageal and pyloric sphincters was simultaneously assessed. Duodenocutaneous fistula-rats received BPC 157 (10 µg/kg or 10 ng/kg, intraperitoneally or perorally (in drinking water)), L-NAME (5 mg/kg intraperitoneally), L-arginine (100 mg/kg intraperitoneally) alone and/or together, throughout 21 days. Duodenocutaneous fistula-rats maintained persistent defects, continuous fistula leakage, sphincter failure, mortality rate at 40% until the 4(th) day, all fully counteracted in all BPC 157-rats. The BPC 157-rats experienced rapidly improved complete presentation (maximal volume instilled already at 7(th) day). L-NAME further aggravated the duodenocutaneous fistula-course (mortality at 70% until the 4(th) day); L-arginine was beneficial (no mortality; however, maximal volume instilled not before 21(st) day). L-NAME-worsening was counteracted to the control level with the L-arginine effect, and vice versa, while BPC 157 annulled the L-NAME effects (L-NAME + L-arginine; L-NAME + BPC 157; L-NAME + L-arginine + BPC 157 brought below the level of the control). It is likely that duodenocutaneous fistulas, duodenal/skin defect simultaneous healing, reinstated sphincter function, are a new nitric oxide-system related phenomenon. In conclusion, resolving the duodenocutanenous fistulashealing, nitric oxide-system involvement, should illustrate further wound healing therapy to heal duodenal ulcers.

Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 heals cysteamine-colitis and colon-colon-anastomosis and counteracts cuprizone brain injuries and motor disability.

Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 was suggested to link inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis, and thereby, shown to equally counteract the models of both of those diseases. For colitis, cysteamine (400 mg/kg intrarectally (1 ml/rat)) and colon-colon anastomosis (sacrifice at day 3, 5, 7, and 14) were used. BPC 157 (10 µg/kg, 10 ng/kg) was applied either intraperitoneally once time daily (first application immediately after surgery, last at 24 hours before sacrifice) or per-orally in drinking water (0.16 µg/ml/12 ml/day till the sacrifice) while controls simultaneously received an equivolume of saline (5 ml/kg) intraperitoneally or drinking water only (12 ml/day). A multiple sclerosis suited toxic rat model, cuprizone (compared with standard, a several times higher regimen, 2.5% of diet regimen + 1 g/kg intragastrically/day) was combined with BPC 157 (in drinking water 0.16 µg or 0.16 ng/ml/12 ml/day/rat + 10 µg or 10 ng/kg intragastrically/day) till the sacrifice at day 4. In general, the controls could not heal cysteamine colitis and colon-colon anastomosis. BPC 157 induced an efficient healing of both at the same time. Likewise, cuprizone-controls clearly exhibited an exaggerated and accelerated damaging process; nerve damage appeared in various brain areas, with most prominent damage in corpus callosum, laterodorsal thalamus, nucleus reunions, anterior horn motor neurons. BPC 157-cuprizone rats had consistently less nerve damage in all damaged areas, especially in those areas that otherwise were most affected. Consistently, BPC 157 counteracted cerebellar ataxia and impaired forelimb function. Thereby, this experimental evidence advocates BPC 157 in both inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis therapy.

Focus on ulcerative colitis: stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157.

Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 (GEPPPGKPADDAGLV, M.W. 1419) may be the new drug stable in human gastric juice, effective both in the upper and lower GI tract, and free of side effects. BPC 157, in addition to an antiulcer effect efficient in therapy of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (PL 14736) so far only tested in clinical phase II, has a very safe profile, and exhibited a particular wound healing effect. It also has shown to interact with the NO-system, providing endothelium protection and angiogenic effect, even in severely impaired conditions (i.e., it stimulated expression of early growth response 1 gene responsible for cytokine and growth factor generation and early extracellular matrix (collagen) formation (but also its repressor nerve growth factor 1-A binding protein-2)), important to counteract severe complications of advanced and poorly controlled IBD. Hopefully, the lessons from animal studies, particularly advanced intestinal anastomosis healing, reversed short bowel syndrome and fistula healing indicate BPC 157's high significance in further IBD therapy. Also, this supportive evidence (i.e., no toxic effect, limit test negative, LD1 not achieved, no side effect in trials) may counteract the problems commonly exercised in the use of peptidergic agents, particularly those used on a long-term basis.

BPC 157 therapy to detriment sphincters failure-esophagitis-pancreatitis in rat and acute pancreatitis patients low sphincters pressure.

Possibly, acute esophagitis and pancreatitis cause each other, and we focused on sphincteric failure as the common causative key able to induce either esophagitis and acute pancreatitis or both of them, and thereby investigate the presence of a common therapy nominator. This may be an anti-ulcer pentadecapeptide BPC 157 (tested for inflammatory bowel disease, wound treatment) affecting esophagitis, lower esophageal and pyloric sphincters failure and acute pancreatitis (10 µg/kg, 10 ng/kg intraperitoneally or in drinking water). The esophagitis-sphincter failure procedure (i.e., insertion of the tubes into the sphincters, lower esophageal and pyloric) and acute pancreatitis procedure (i.e., bile duct ligation) were combined in rats. Esophageal manometry was done in acute pancreatitis patients. In rats acute pancreatitis procedure produced also esophagitis and both sphincter failure, decreased pressure 24 h post-surgery. Furthermore, bile duct ligation alone immediately declines the pressure in both sphincters. Vice versa, the esophagitis-sphincter failure procedure alone produced acute pancreatitis. What's more, these lesions (esophagitis, sphincter failure, acute pancreatitis when combined) aggravate each other (tubes into sphincters and ligated bile duct). Counteraction occurred by BPC 157 therapies. In acute pancreatitis patients lower pressure at rest was in both esophageal sphincters in acute pancreatitis patients. We conclude that BPC 157 could cure esophagitis/sphincter/acute pancreatitis healing failure.

High hepatotoxic dose of paracetamol produces generalized convulsions and brain damage in rats. A counteraction with the stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 (PL 14736).

We focused on stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 (GEPPPGKPADDAGLV, MW 1419, an anti-ulcer peptide efficient in inflammatory bowel disease trials (PL 14736), no toxicity reported) because of its hepatoprotective effects. We investigate a particular aspect of the sudden onset of encephalopathy with extreme paracetamol overdose (5 g/kg intraperitoneally) so far not reported: rapidly induced progressive hepatic encephalopathy with generalized convulsions in rats. BPC 157 therapy (10 microg, 10 ng, 10 pg/kg, intraperitoneally or intragastrically) was effective (microg-ng range) against paracetamol toxicity, given in early (BPC 157 immediately after paracetamol, prophylactically) or advanced stage (BPC 157 at 3 hours after paracetamol, therapeutically). At 25 min post-paracetamol increased ALT, AST and ammonium serum values precede liver lesion while in several brain areas, significant damage became apparent, accompanied by generalized convulsions. Through the next 5 hour seizure period and thereafter, the brain damage, liver damage enzyme values and hyperammonemia increased, particularly throughout the 3-24 h post-paracetamol period. BPC 157 demonstrated clinical (no convulsions (prophylactic application) or convulsions rapidly disappeared (therapeutic effect within 25 min)), microscopical (markedly less liver and brain lesions) and biochemical (enzyme and ammonium serum levels decreased) counteraction. Both, the prophylactic and therapeutic benefits (intraperitoneally and intragastrically) clearly imply BPC 157 (microg-ng range) as a highly effective paracetamol antidote even against highly advanced damaging processes induced by an extreme paracetamol over-dose.

Over-dose insulin and stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157. Attenuated gastric ulcers, seizures, brain lesions, hepatomegaly, fatty liver, breakdown of liver glycogen, profound hypoglycemia and calcification in rats.

We focused on over-dose insulin (250 IU/kg i.p.) induced gastric ulcers and then on other disturbances that were concomitantly induced in rats, seizures (eventually fatal), severely damaged neurons in cerebral cortex and hippocampus, hepatomegaly, fatty liver, increased AST, ALT and amylase serum values, breakdown of liver glycogen with profound hypoglycemia and calcification development. Calcium deposits were present in the blood vessel walls, hepatocytes surrounding blood vessels and sometimes even in parenchyma of the liver mainly as linear and only occasionally as granular accumulation. As an antidote after insulin, we applied the stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 (10 microg/kg) given (i) intraperitoneally or (ii) intragastrically immediately after insulin. Controls received simultaneously an equivolume of saline (5 ml/kg). Those rats that survived till the 180 minutes after over-dose application were further assessed. Interestingly, pentadecapeptide BPC 157, as an antiulcer peptide, may besides stomach ulcer consistently counteract all insulin disturbances and fatal outcome. BPC 157 rats showed no fatal outcome, they were mostly without hypoglycemic seizures with apparently higher blood glucose levels (glycogen was still present in hepatocytes), less liver pathology (i.e., normal liver weight, less fatty liver), decreased ALT, AST and amylase serum values, markedly less damaged neurons in brain and they only occasionally had small gastric lesions. BPC 157 rats exhibited mostly only dot-like calcium presentation. In conclusion, the success of BPC 157 therapy may indicate a likely role of BPC 157 in insulin controlling and BPC 157 may influence one or more causative process(es) after excessive insulin application.