Alcohol and epithelial regeneration in the rat stomach following experimental lesions

In man, chronic consumption of alcohol has been incriminated as a promoting factor in the development of columnar-lined lower esophagus (Barrett's syndrome). To test the effects of alcohol on the regeneration of squamous epithelium, rats were fed a diet containing 2,5 g alcohol daily for 6 weeks after the junctional region between the squamous epithelium of their fore stomach and the columnar epithelium of their glandular chamber had been injured and denuded. Compared to animals fed an isocaloric control diet the alcohol-fed rats showed neither major macroscopical nor histological differences in the regeneration process of the epithelium. Under the influence of alcohol the mucosal border did not move in an orad direction. Thus, these results fail to support the hypothesis of alcohol promoting the replacement of defects in squamous epithelium by columnar epithelium which is thought to be the major pathomechanism in Barrett's syndrome.