Anakinra and dexamethasone treatment of idarubicin-induced mucositis and diarrhoea in rats

Chemotherapy-induced mucositis, characterized by diarrhoea and villous atrophy, is a severe side effect contributing to reduced quality of life and premature death in cancer patients treated with cytostatics. Despite its high incidence, there is no effective supportive therapy available. The main objective of this study was to determine if the anti-inflammatory drugs anakinra and/or dexamethasone-which have different mechanisms-of-action-might be used to effectively treat idarubicin-induced mucositis in rats. Mucositis was induced through a single injection with 2 mg/kg idarubicin (with saline as control), followed by daily treatments of anakinra (100 mg/kg/day), dexamethasone (10 mg/kg/day) or both for 3 days. After 72 h, jejunal tissue was collected for morphological, apoptotic and proliferative analyses, and colonic faecal water content and body weight change were determined. The diarrhoea that was induced by idarubicin (from 63.5% to 78.6% water content in faeces) was completely reversed by anakinra alone, and the jejunal villus height reduction by 36% was prevented by a combination of anakinra and dexamethasone. Dexamethasone reduced apoptosis in the jejunal crypts, both alone and in combination with anakinra. These positive effects encouraged further investigations into the use of anakinra and dexamethasone as supportive therapies for chemotherapy-induced intestinal mucositis and diarrhoea.

Automated summary

Chemotherapy-induced mucositis is a severe side effect in cancer patients, for which there is currently no effective supportive therapy. This study investigated the use of anakinra and dexamethasone as potential treatments for idarubicin-induced mucositis in rats. The results showed that anakinra alone can reverse the induced diarrhea and a combination of anakinra and dexamethasone can prevent the reduction of jejunal villus height. These findings suggest that anakinra and dexamethasone may serve as supportive therapies for chemotherapy-induced intestinal mucositis and diarrhea.