The development and inflammatory featuresof radiotherapy-induced glossitis in rats

ABSTRACT

Objectives: To improve the existing animal models (mice, rats, and hamsters) for radiotherapy-induced oral mucositis(RTOM), thereby establishing a radiotherapy-induced glossitis (RTG) Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat model.Study Design: A lead device was designed to limit radiation exposure to a 1×1 cm2 area of a rat’s dorsal anteriortongue with a single 30Gy of X-ray radiation. The general conditions of the irradiated rats, such as body-weightand behavior, were observed. The oral mucositis index (OMI) of the RTG rats were measured daily. Histologicalchanges of the irradiated tongue tissues were assayed by H&E staining.Results and Conclusion: No significant changes were clinically observed 3 to 4 days after irradiation. At 5 to 6 day,punctuation and confluenced redness of the mucosa were observed. The small blood vessels became more extensive,engorged, thin vessel walls. More infiltrating cells were observable, necrosis and exfoliation of the squamouscells appeared, and the formation of an ulcerative lesion could be observed. Seven to 15 days, the exfoliated epitheliallayer was observed to have formed an ulcerative lesion, then aggravated ulcerative lesions consisting ofpseudomembranous filament exudates could be observed. The structure of the epithelium had become completelydisintegrated, forming deep, microscopic ulcerative lesions. Twenty-one days, the periphery of the ulcer wasobserved to have begun to heal, and granulation tissue could be observed at the bottom of the ulceration. At 35days after irradiation, the epithelial structure presented again, but the epithelium was very thin. An RTG animalmodel was successfully established in SD rats, which provides a new research platform for the study of RTOMpathogenesis (AU)

RESUMEN

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