THE HEALING PROCESS OF PEPTIC ULCER AND COAGULATION FACTOR XIII

Abstract

In order to study the correlation between the healing process of peptic ulcers and coagulation factor XIII (F-XIII), F-XIII in plasma from 55 cases with peptic ulcer was investigated in addition to localization in resected gastric tissue from 14 cases. F-XIII in plasma and tissue was determined by fluorometry and the PAP method respectively.
Plasma F-XIII activity showed a gentle peak two or three weeks after the onset of abdominal pain. F-XIIIa-positive cells increased in the ulcer floor in which granulation and immature fibrosis were observed. F-XIIIa-positive cells were found in fibroblasts or macrophages. However, they were not prominent in tissue of ulcer scar.
These findings suggest that F-XIII may play an active role in the peptic ulcer healing process.