Changes of Intestinal Nitric Oxide Level and Histopathological Examination after Radiation-induced Enteritis in Rats

Objective To investigate the changes of intestinal nitric oxide(NO) and intestinal mucosal histopathological examination after radiation induced enteritis in rats.Methods Twenty four Wistar rats were divided into two groups.In enteritis group,rats underwent abdominal irradiation with X rays at single dose of 11 Gy.Control group were untreated.Four days after irradiation,all animals were sacrificed.Through a midline abdominal incision,small intestinal mucosal samples of intestinal segments were homogenized (10%,w/v) for NO concentration analysis.Two cm sections of the terminal ileum were fixed in formalin for histopathological examination including the mean villous height and the number of villi/cm length measurements.Results The intestinal NO concentration were significantly increased in enteritis group compared with control group( P 0 05).There were fewer villi in enteritis group compared with control group( P 0 001).The villous height was significantly reduced in enteritis group compared with control group( P 0 001).Conclusion There are significant increase of intestinal NO concentration in radiation induced intestinal damages. China J Cancer Prev Treat,2003,10(3):283-285