Comparative Model Studies of Gastric Toxicity of Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs

A high percentage of people treated with a long-term nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) therapy suffer NSAID-induced gastrointestinal-tract-related side effects. A current hypothesis states that the side effects are related to the topical action of NSAID molecules on gastric mucus that lowers its resistance to luminal acid. The main lipids in human mucus are palmitoyloleoylphosphatidylcholine (POPC) and cholesterol (Chol). In this study, both X-ray diffraction and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation methods were employed to investigate the effects of selected NSAIDs in protonated and deprotonated states on the structural parameters of a POPC-Chol bilayer. The drugs were three commonly used NSAIDs with apparently different gastric toxicity: ketoprofen (KET), aspirin (ASP), and piroxicam (PXM). Both methods revealed that the effects of the NSAIDs on the POPC-Chol bilayer parameters were moderate and only slightly differentiated among the drugs. Much larger differences among the drugs were noticed in their interactions with interfacial water and Na+ as well as with the polar groups of POPC and Chol, mainly via H-bonds. Of the three NSAIDs, KET interacted with POPC and water the most extensively, whereas ASP interacted with Chol and Na+ more than did the other two. Interactions of PXM with POPC and Chol polar groups as well as with water and Na+ were limited.