Oxidative stress induces gastric submucosal arteriolar dysfunction in the elderly

Figure 1 Changes in vascular structure of gastric submucosal arteries isolated from young and elderly patients shown by hematoxylin and eosin and Verhoeff van Gieson staining. A: Young, hematoxylin and eosin (HE); B: Elderly, HE; C: Young, Verhoeff van Gieson (EVG); D: Elderly, EVG. Images were obtained at × 400, Bar 50 μm.

Figure 2 Effects of age on relaxant response to acetylcholine (A) and sodium nitroprusside (B) in gastric arterioles from young and elderly patients. Data are mean ± SE, n = 6. ^aP < 0.05 vs young group. Ach: Acetylcholine; SNP: Sodium nitroprusside.

Figure 3 Changes in malondialdehyde (A) and hydrogen peroxide (B) and the activities of superoxide dismutase (C) and glutathione peroxidase (D) in gastric submucosal arteries isolated from young and elderly patients. Data are mean ± SE, n = 10. ^aP < 0.05 vs young group. MDA: Malondialdehyde; H₂O₂: Hydrogen peroxide; SOD: Superoxide dismutase; GSH-Px: Glutathione peroxidase.

Figure 4 Expression of xanthine oxidase (A) and manganese-superoxide dismutase (B) protein in gastric mucosa substratum arteries isolated from young and elderly patients. ^aP < 0.05 vs young group. β-actin was used to normalize loading variations (each bar represents the mean ± SE of 4 independent experiments). XO: Xanthine oxidase; Mn-SOD: Manganese-superoxide dismutase.