Potential stem cell—Conditioned medium and their derived exosomes versus omeprazole in treatment of experimental model of gastric ulcer

Gastric ulcer is a common frequent clinical problem affecting all age and gender. This work aims to compare between the therapeutic effects of stem cell derived exosomes, stem cells conditioned medium and omeprazole on the healing of gastric ulcer model. Fifty rats were, assigned into 5 groups; control, gastric ulcer, omeprazole-treated, conditioned medium- treated, and exosomes-treated groups. Gastric ulcer was induced by aspirin dissolved in 1% carboxymethyl cellulose at a daily dose of 200 mg/kg for 5 consecutive days. Stomach specimens were obtained for histological, biochemical, and immunohistochemical assessments. The gastric ulcer group revealed widening of the fundic glands lumen containing, exfoliated dead cells. There was a remarkable distortion of the normal histological structure of the gastric mucosa with surface lining epithelial cell sloughing, vascular congestion and inflammatory cell infiltration. Both exosomes and conditioned medium treatments ameliorated almost all of the histopathological changes. Interestingly, the healing effect of exosomes was greater because it restored the histological architecture of gastric mucosa to nearly normal. In conclusion, this work may pave the future for using stem cell derived exosomes as a more convenient and effective adjuvant therapy in gastric ulcer.