Effect of abdominal irradiation in mice model of inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel diseases could be diagnosed in major measure by diagnostic imaging; however, radiation exposure in the intestine may also contribute to the progression of these pathologies. To better understand the impact of radiation in the presence of bowel disease, we administered dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) to C57BL/6 mice to induce colitis and exposed to radiation at abdominal area. We observed that abdominal irradiation (13 Gy) aggravates the DSS-induced decrease in survival rate (0%), body weight (74.54 +/- 3.59%) and colon length (4.98 +/- 0.14 cm). Additionally, abdominal irradiation markedly increased in colonic inflammation levels (3.16 +/- 0.16) compared with that of DSS-induced sham mice. Furthermore, abdominal irradiation also increased the mRNA expression levels of inflammatory genes, such as cyclooxygenase-2 (13.10 folds), interleukin-6 (48.83 folds) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (42.97 folds). We conclude that abdominal irradiation aggravates the detrimental effects of DSS-induced colitis in mice, which might be a useful guideline for inflammatory bowel disease patients.

Automated summary

Inflammatory bowel diseases can be diagnosed through diagnostic imaging, but radiation exposure in the intestine can worsen the progression of these diseases. To study the impact of radiation on bowel diseases, mice were induced with colitis and exposed to abdominal irradiation. The results showed that abdominal irradiation aggravated the effects of colitis, including decreased survival rate, body weight, and colon length, as well as increased inflammation levels and expression of inflammatory genes. This study provides valuable insights for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases.