Relationship between gene expressions of aquaporin 3 and 4 and various degrees of spleen-stomach dampness-heat syndrome in chronic superficial gastritis.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between gene expressions of aquaporin (AQP) 3 and 4 and various degrees of spleen-stomach dampness-heat syndrome in chronic superficial gastritis (CSG). METHODS: Twenty-four CSG patients were divided into three groups according to the degrees of spleen-stomach dampness-heat syndrome: mild, moderate and severe groups. There were 8 patients in each group, and another 8 healthy persons were selected as normal control. Samples of mucosa of upper stomach in the included patients and normal persons were collected by gastroscopy, and then were stored in liquid nitrogen. The gene expressions of AQP3 and AQP4 in gastric tissue were examined by fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The gene expressions of AQP3 and AQP4 in the moderate and severe groups were higher than that in the mild group and normal group (P<0.05, P<0.01). The gene expression of AQP3 in the severe group was higher than that in the moderate group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The gene expressions of AQP3 and AQP4 in gastric mucosa are different in patients with various degrees of spleen-stomach dampness-heat syndrome of CSG. There is a relationship between expressions of AQP3 and AQP4 genes and the degrees of spleen-stomach dampness-heat syndrome, and the gene expressions will increase with the aggravation of the dampness-heat syndrome.

[Study on correlation between aquaporin 3, 4 gene expression in gastric mucosa and severity of Pi-Wei damp-heat syndrome in patients with chronic superficial gastritis].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between aquaporin 3,4 (AQP3, AQP4) gene expression in gastric mucosa and severity of Pi-Wei damp-heat syndrome (PWDHS) in patients with chronic superficial gastritis (CSG). METHODS: Gastric mucosa taken from the upper part of gastric corpus was collected under gastroscope and preserved in liquid nitrogen. The gene expression of AQP3 and AQP4 was determined quantitatively by fluorescent PCR. RESULTS: The gene expression of AQP3 and AQP4 in patients with PWDHS of moderate and severe degree was higher than that in those of mild degree and in healthy persons respectively (P <0.05 and P <0.01); and the gene expression of AQP3 in patients with PWDHS of severe degree was higher than that in those of moderate degree (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The gene expression of AQP3 and AQP4 in gastric mucosa was correlative with the severity of PWDHS in patients with chronic superficial gastritis, the severer the syndrome, the higher the gene expression.