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 [Abstract]

Radiation enteropathy is a common complication in cancer patients. The aim of this study was to investigate whether radiation-induced intestinal injury could be alleviated by coniferyl aldehyde (CA), an HSF1-inducing agent that increases cellular HSP70 expression. We systemically administered CA to mice with radiation enteropathy following abdominal irradiation (IR) to demonstrate the protective effects of CA against radiation-induced gastrointestinal injury. CA clearly alleviated acute radiation-induced intestinal damage, as reflected by the histopathological data and it also attenuated sub-acute enteritis. CA prevented intestinal crypt cell death and protected the microvasculature in the lamina propria during the acute and sub-acute phases of damage. CA induced HSF1 and HSP70 expression in both intestinal epithelial cells and endothelial cells in vitro. Additionally, CA protected against not only the apoptotic cell death of both endothelial and epithelial cells but also the loss of endothelial cell function following IR, indicating that CA has beneficial effects on the intestine. Our results provide novel insight into the effects of CA and suggest its role as a therapeutic candidate for radiation-induced enteropathy due to its ability to promote rapid re-proliferation of the intestinal epithelium by the synergic effects of the inhibition of cell death and the promotion of endothelial cell function.

[Author information]

Jeong YJ1, Jung MG2, Son Y2, Jang JH2, Lee YJ2, Kim SH3, Ko YG4, Lee YS5, Lee HJ2.

1Division of Radiation Effects, Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul, Korea; Department of Life Sciences, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.

2Division of Radiation Effects, Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul, Korea.

3College of Veterinary Medicine, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Korea.

4Department of Life Sciences, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.

5College of Pharmacy & Division of Life & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea.