Abstract: Objective To investigate the gender difference and potential mechanism of stress gastric ulcer in rats. Methods Fourty male and 40 female SD rats about 200-220 g were randomly divided into cold stress group （20 rats） and room temperature control group （20 rats） according to gender respectively.Rats of cold stress groups were afflicted gastric ulcer by cold stress method. Then the gastric ulcer index was compared between cold stress group of male and female groups, meanwhile the concentration of serum copper and zinc, activity of superoxide dismutase （SOD）, and content of reduced glutathione （GSH） in every group were determined and analyzed. Results The gastric ulcer index in male group was significant higher than that in female group. Concentration of serum zinc upgraded and serum copper decreased after cold stress （P＜0.05 or P＜0.0l） and the serum copper of male group was more reduced（P＜0.05）. Activity of SOD in serum of both genders were decreased significantly （P＜0.01）, and the male group was even more reduced （P＜0.01）. Content of GSH in serum of both genders were increased overtly （P＜0.01）. Conclusion The rat’s gender have some effects on gastric ulcer of rats. Cold stress provokes copper and zinc re-distribution in vivo and free radical cleaning system differential priming response in two genders are part of the possible inherent mechanism of sexual difference in stress gastric ulcer.

Key words: Stress gastric ulcer, Gender difference, Copper, Zinc, Superoxide dismutase （SOD）, Reduced glutathione（GSH）