Protection effect of cerium oxide nanoparticles against radiation-induced acute lung injuries in rats

Introduction: Radiation therapy is one of the most common tools for treating cancer. The aim is to deliver adequate doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and the most challenging part during this procedure is to protect normal cells from radiation. One strategy is to use a radioprotector to spare normal tissues from ionizing radiation effects. Researchers have pursued cerium oxide nanoparticles as a therapeutic agent, due to its diverse characteristics, which include antioxidant properties, making it a potential radioprotector. Materials and methods: One hundred rats were divided into five groups of A) control group, intraperitoneal (IP) saline injection was done twice a week; B) bi-weekly IP injection of 14.5 nM (0.00001 mg/kg) CNP for two weeks; C) a single whole thorax radiation dose of 18 Gy; D) a single whole thorax radiation dose of 18 Gy + bi-weekly injection of 14.5 nM CNP for two weeks after radiation; E) bi-weekly IP injection of 14.5 nM CNP for two weeks prior to radiation + a single whole thorax radiation dose of 18 Gy. Thirty days after irradiation, 7 rats from each group were anesthetized and their lungs extracted for histopathological examination. Results: Statistical analyses revealed that CNP significantly decreased the incidence of tissue collapse and neutrophile aggregation in rats receiving CNP before radiation in comparison with the radiation group. Conclusion: The results suggested the possibility of using CNP as a future radioprotector due to its ability to protect normal cells against radiation-induced damage. (C) 2020 Greater Poland Cancer Centre. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.