Oral mucositis is a common adverse reaction of radiotherapy used for head and neck cancers. Our research investigates the therapeutic effect and potential mechanisms of ecdysterone, a compound which was used as a functional food additive, isolated from the root of medicine-food herbs Achyranthes bidentata (Blume), on radiation-induced oral mucositis in rats during the early development stages of mucositis. In this study, male Sprague-Dawley rats received a single 20 Gy X-ray dose to the head and neck after placement of each animal in a specially-constructed 5-mm lead jig. At 24 h postirradiation, ecdysterone was administrated orally. Therapeutic effects of ecdysterone were investigated by observing weight changes and development of mucositis on days 5 and 10 after treatment. Determination of superoxide dismutase and malondialdehyde concentration was performed 5 days after treatment. H&E and leukocyte common antigen staining and TUNEL assays were performed 10 days after treatment. After 10 days of treatment, total protein from the tongue samples was extracted and Western blot analysis was performed to evaluate changes in protein expression. The results of this study showed that ecdysterone prevented the development of radiation-induced oral mucositis in rats during the early stages. Ecdysterone significantly attenuated radiation-induced decrease in cellular superoxide dismutase concentration and increase in malondialdehyde concentration. Ecdysterone was also linked to up-regulation of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and down-regulation of pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and cleaved caspase-3. In conclusion, these findings suggest that orally administrated ecdysterone alleviates the development of radiation-induced oral mucositis in rats with remarkable anti-oxidant and anti-apoptotic activities at early stages after irradiation.

口腔黏膜炎是头颈癌放疗常见的不良反应。我们的研究调查了蜕皮甾酮的治疗效果和潜在机制，蜕皮甾酮是一种用作功能性食品添加剂的化合物，从药食草本牛膝的根中分离出来(Blume)，关于粘膜炎早期发展阶段大鼠辐射诱导的口腔粘膜炎。在这项研究中，雄性 Sprague-Dawley 大鼠在将每只动物放入特制的 5 毫米铅夹具后，对其头部和颈部接受单次 20 Gy X 射线剂量。在照射后 24 小时，口服蜕皮甾酮。通过在治疗后第 5 天和第 10 天观察体重变化和粘膜炎的发展来研究蜕皮甾酮的治疗效果。处理后5天进行超氧化物歧化酶和丙二醛浓度的测定。治疗后 10 天进行 H&E 和白细胞共同抗原染色和 TUNEL 检测。治疗 10 天后，从舌头样本中提取总蛋白并进行蛋白质印迹分析以评估蛋白质表达的变化。这项研究的结果表明，蜕皮甾酮在早期阶段可防止大鼠发生辐射诱发的口腔粘膜炎。蜕皮甾酮显着减弱辐射诱导的细胞超氧化物歧化酶浓度的降低和丙二醛浓度的增加。蜕皮甾酮还与抗凋亡蛋白 Bcl-2 的上调和促凋亡蛋白 Bax 和裂解的 caspase-3 的下调有关。总之，这些发现表明，口服蜕皮甾酮可减轻辐射诱导的大鼠口腔粘膜炎的发展，并在辐射后的早期阶段具有显着的抗氧化和抗凋亡活性。蜕皮甾酮显着减弱辐射诱导的细胞超氧化物歧化酶浓度的降低和丙二醛浓度的增加。蜕皮甾酮还与抗凋亡蛋白 Bcl-2 的上调和促凋亡蛋白 Bax 和裂解的 caspase-3 的下调有关。总之，这些发现表明，口服蜕皮甾酮可减轻辐射诱导的大鼠口腔粘膜炎的发展，并在辐射后的早期阶段具有显着的抗氧化和抗凋亡活性。蜕皮甾酮显着减弱辐射诱导的细胞超氧化物歧化酶浓度的降低和丙二醛浓度的增加。蜕皮甾酮还与抗凋亡蛋白 Bcl-2 的上调和促凋亡蛋白 Bax 和裂解的 caspase-3 的下调有关。总之，这些发现表明，口服蜕皮甾酮可减轻辐射诱导的大鼠口腔粘膜炎的发展，并在辐射后的早期阶段具有显着的抗氧化和抗凋亡活性。