Establishment of a rat model of acute radiation esophagitis / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To establish Wistar rat models of acute radiation esophagitis, and observe the histopathological changes at different time points after modeling.Methods:Wistar rats were locally irradiated with different doses of 6 MV X-rays, and the rats were sacrificed on the 3 rd, 5 th, 7 th, and 14 th days after irradiation. The full-length esophagus tissue was taken for paraffin embedding, sectioning, and hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining for pathological assessment. The pathological changes of the esophagus of the rats were observed at the 3 rd, 5 th, 7 th, and 14 th days after 25 Gy and 30 Gy irradiation. The changes of daily dietary intake of rats in different irradiation groups within 1-2 weeks after radiation exposure were observed. Results:No rat died in two groups after being irradiated with 25 Gy and 30 Gy rays. All the rats in the 30 Gy group had esophagus injury. On the 7 th day, the degree of injury was the most serious, with a pathological score of 5.00±0.75 and a food intake of 0 g. On the 14 th day, the degree of injury was relieved, and the food intake was restored to the level before irradiation. Conclusions:The Wistar rat model of acute radiation esophagitis can be established by a single dose of 6 MV X-ray 30 Gy irradiation to the esophagus. The 7 th day after irradiation is an ideal observation time for the acute injury phase, which is gradually alleviated after the 7 th day. The time can be chosen from 7-14 days after irradiation as the observation point for the healing repair phase.