Stress ulcer accompanying subarachnoid hemorrhage--a new rat model

New rat model of stress ulcer, related to subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) was devised. A 0.2 ml of the arterial blood, obtained from another rat of the same litter, was injected into the cisterna magna and 4 days later, mild stress, consisting of restraint plus water-immersion for 3 hours to the injected rat, produced gastric ulcers. These lesions were far more marked than in usual rats undergoing the same stress (P less than 0.001). Using this "SAH-stress model", effects of various counteracting measures were examined. Based on the results, we concluded that SAH produced a hypersensitivity or an abnormal excitability of the autonomic nervous centers, and the relatively mild stress effectively weakened the gastric defensive factors and strengthened the gastric aggressive factors, thus resulting in ulcer formation.

The in vitro and in vivo behavior of urokinase immobilized onto collagen-synthetic polymer composite material

With a view to developing biomaterials for semipermanent substitution, we have studied a composite material constituted with collagen and a synthetic polymer which possesses high tissue compatibility. This collagen-synthetic polymer composite was applied as a support for immobilization of enzymes for the purpose of providing a material surface with biological function. The enzymes, urokinase and trypsin, were successfully bound to the collagen membrane layer which had been activated by acyl azide formation of its carboxyl groups. The enzyme-bearing composite material showed excellent catalytic activity toward a protein substrate as well as a low-molecular-weight synthetic substrate. The immobilized urokinase was characterized enzymatically and compared with native urokinase. The apparent affinity of immobilized urokinase for the substrate was slightly decreased, but its intrinsic kinetic properties were not significantly affected. No decrease in its esterase activity was observed both on repeated use and on long-term storage, and its fibrinolytic activity was stable on heat or disinfection treatment. When this urokinase-bearing composite material was applied into rabbit blood vessels, its in vivo fibrinolytic activity was maintained. Thus, enzyme-collagen-synthetic polymer composites may find wide application for biomaterials and artificial organs as functional biomaterials.