Pepsinogens, pepsins, and peptic ulcer.

The role of pepsin in the pathogenesis of peptic ulcer has been the subject of intense study and debate for many years. Two difficulties inherent in distinguishing between the role of acid alone vs acid and pepsin are that a) acid-containing gastric juice always contains pepsin, and, b) that hydrogen ion concentration (pH) is a major determinant of the activity of pepsin. However, studies in animal models of peptic ulcer indicate clearly that pepsin, in combination with acid, produces much more severe and more extensive mucosal damage than acid alone. Recent interest in pepsin and its precursor, pepsinogen, has stemmed from the finding that each is remarkably heterogeneous, and that the heterogeneity has a genetic basis. Results of studies using radioimmunoassays specific for the 2 major forms of pepsinogen, pepsinogen I and pepsinogen II, have shown that serum levels of pepsinogen I and pepsinogen II, and the ratio of pepsinogen I to pepsinogen II, can be used as noninvasive probes of gastric mucosal structure and function, indicators of the genetics and heterogeneity of duodenal ulcer, and as markers of increased risk for duodenal ulcer and gastric ulcer.