Hemopexin is upregulated in rat intestinal mucosa injured by indomethacin.
Recent advancements in capsule endoscopy and double-balloon endoscopy have revealed that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as indomethacin, can induce small intestinal mucosal damage. However, the precise pathogenesis and therapeutic strategy have not been fully revealed. The aim of the present study was to determine the upregulated proteins in the small intestine exposed to indomethacin. Indomethacin (10 mg/kg) was administered subcutaneously to male Wistar rats to induce small intestinal damage and the severity of the intestinal injury was evaluated by measuring the area of visible ulcerative lesions. The intestinal mucosal tissue samples were collected and then analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight spectrometer peptide mass fingerprinting being used to determine the differentially expressed proteins between normal and injured intestinal mucosa. Among several protein spots showing differential expression, one, hemopexin (HPX), was identified as upregulated in indomethacin-induced injured intestinal mucosa using the MASCOT search engine. HPX was identified as upregulated protein in the small intestine exposed to indomethacin. HPX may be responsible for the development of the intestinal inflammation induced by NSAIDs.