A multi-faceted intervention to reduce alcohol misuse and harm amongst sports people in Ireland: A controlled trial.

Introduction And Aims: Alcohol misuse and harm are more prevalent amongst sports people than non-sports people. Few studies have trialled interventions to address alcohol misuse for this group. The study aimed to test the effectiveness of an intervention to reduce alcohol misuse and related harms amongst amateur sports people in Ireland.

Indian Hedgehog mediates gastrin-induced proliferation in stomach of adult mice.

Background & Aims: Loss of expression of Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) from parietal cells results in hypergastrinemia in mice, accompanied by increased expression of Indian Hedgehog (Ihh) and hyperproliferation of surface mucous cells. We investigated whether hypergastrinemia induces gastric epithelial proliferation by activating Ihh signaling in mice.

Methods: We studied mice with parietal cell-specific deletion of Shh (PC-Shh(KO)) and hypergastrinemia, crossed with gastrin-deficient (GKO) mice (PC-Shh(KO)/GKO).

Plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 suppresses inhibition of gastric emptying by cholecystokinin (CCK) in mice.

The intestinal hormone cholecystokinin (CCK) delays gastric emptying and inhibits food intake by actions on vagal afferent neurons. Recent studies suggest plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 suppresses the effect of CCK on food intake. In this study we asked whether PAI-1 also modulated CCK effects on gastric emptying.

The role of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in gastric mucosal protection.

Gastric mucosal health is maintained in response to potentially damaging luminal factors. Aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) disrupt protective mechanisms leading to bleeding and ulceration. The plasminogen activator system has been implicated in fibrinolysis following gastric ulceration, and an inhibitor of this system, plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1, is expressed in gastric epithelial cells.

Gastric expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 is associated with hyperphagia and obesity in mice.

The adipokine plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 is increased in plasma of obese individuals and exhibits increased expression in the stomachs of individuals infected with Helicobacter. To investigate the relevance of gastric PAI-1, we used 1.1 kb of the H(+)/K(+)β subunit promoter to overexpress PAI-1 specifically in mouse gastric parietal cells (PAI-1-H/Kβ mice).

Gastric Sonic Hedgehog acts as a macrophage chemoattractant during the immune response to Helicobacter pylori.

Background & Aims: Macrophages mediate the epithelial response to Helicobacter pylori and are involved in the development of gastritis. Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) regulates gastric epithelial differentiation and function, but little is known about its immunoregulatory role in the stomach. We investigated whether gastric Shh acts as a macrophage chemoattractant during the innate immune response to H pylori infection.

Inhibitors of acid secretion can benefit gastric wound repair independent of luminal pH effects on the site of damage.

Background And Aims: The authors' goal was to measure pH at the gastric surface (pH₀) to understand how acid secretion affects the repair of microscopic injury to the gastric epithelium.

Methods: Microscopic gastric damage was induced by laser light, during confocal/two-photon imaging of pH-sensitive dyes (Cl-NERF, BCECF) that were superfused over the mucosal surface of the exposed gastric corpus of anaesthetised mice. The progression of repair was measured in parallel with pH₀.

Gastrin stimulates expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in gastric epithelial cells.

Plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 is associated with cancer progression, fibrosis and thrombosis. It is expressed in the stomach but the mechanisms controlling its expression there, and its biological role, are uncertain. We sought to define the role of gastrin in regulating PAI-1 expression and to determine the relevance for gastrin-stimulated cell migration and invasion.

Alcohol use among amateur sportsmen in Ireland.

Background: The objective of this study was to establish baseline data on alcohol consumption patterns, behaviours and harms among amateur sportsmen in the Republic of Ireland.

Findings: The study presents findings from the baseline survey for a cluster randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a community intervention programme to reduce problem alcohol use among a representative sample of Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) clubs in two counties in the Republic of Ireland. Self reported alcohol use, prevalence of binge drinking, AUDIT scores and alcohol-related harms were assessed in amateur GAA sportsmen aged 16 years and over.

Gastrin activates paracrine networks leading to induction of PAI-2 via MAZ and ASC-1.

The gastric hormone gastrin regulates the expression of a variety of genes involved in control of acid secretion and also in the growth and organization of the gastric mucosa. One putative target is plasminogen activator inhibitor-2 (PAI-2), which is a component of the urokinase activator system that acts extracellularly to inhibit urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) and intracellularly to suppress apoptosis. Previous studies have demonstrated that gastrin induces PAI-2 both in gastric epithelial cells expressing the gastrin (CCK-2) receptor and, via activation of paracrine networks, in adjacent cells that do not express the receptor.

Increased expression of the urokinase plasminogen activator system by Helicobacter pylori in gastric epithelial cells.

The gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is linked to peptic ulcer and gastric cancer, but the relevant pathophysiological mechanisms are unclear. We now report that H.

Increased gastric expression of MMP-7 in hypergastrinemia and significance for epithelial-mesenchymal signaling.

Chronic hypergastrinemia is associated with enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cell hyperplasia, which may progress to gastric carcinoid tumors. The latter consists of epithelial cells and stroma, and both compartments usually regress after normalization of hypergastrinemia. We previously showed that matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-7 in gastric epithelial cells was upregulated by Helicobacter pylori and described MMP-7-dependent reciprocal signaling between the epithelium and a key stromal cell type, the myofibroblast.