S-nitrosoglutathione accelerates recovery from 5-fluorouracil-induced oral mucositis.

• Main Authors: Maria Adriana Skeff, Gerly A C Brito, Marcelo G de Oliveira, Cintia M Braga, Matheus M Cavalcante, Victor Baldim, Rosenilde C Holanda-Afonso, Carina M Silva-Boghossian, Ana Paula Colombo, Ronaldo A Ribeiro, Vivaldo Moura-Neto, Renata F C Leitão
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014-01-01
• Series: PLoS ONE
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0113378

<h4>Introduction</h4>Mucositis induced by anti-neoplastic drugs is an important, dose-limiting and costly side-effect of cancer therapy.<h4>Aim</h4>To evaluate the effect of the topical application of S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO), a nitric oxide donor, on 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-induced oral mucositis in hamsters.<h4>Materials and methods</h4>Oral mucositis was induced in male hamsters by two intraperitoneal administrations of 5-FU on the first and second days of the experiment (60 and 40 mg/kg, respectively) followed by mechanical trauma on the fourth day. Animals received saline, HPMC or HPMC/GSNO (0.1, 0.5 or 2.0 mM) 1 h prior to the 5-FU injection and twice a day for 10 or 14 days. Samples of cheek pouches were harvested for: histopathological analysis, TNF-α and IL-1β levels, immunohistochemical staining for iNOS, TNF-α, IL-1β, Ki67 and TGF-β RII and a TUNEL assay. The presence and levels of 39 bacterial taxa were analyzed using the Checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization method. The profiles of NO released from the HPMC/GSNO formulations were characterized using chemiluminescence.<h4>Results</h4>The HPMC/GSNO formulations were found to provide sustained release of NO for more than 4 h at concentration-dependent rates of 14 to 80 nmol/mL/h. Treatment with HPMC/GSNO (0.5 mM) significantly reduced mucosal damage, inflammatory alterations and cell death associated with 5-FU-induced oral mucositis on day 14 but not on day 10. HPMC/GSNO administration also reversed the inhibitory effect of 5-FU on cell proliferation on day 14. In addition, we observed that the chemotherapy significantly increased the levels and/or prevalence of several bacterial species.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Topical HPMC/GSNO accelerates mucosal recovery, reduces inflammatory parameters, speeds up re-epithelization and decreases levels of periodontopathic species in mucosal ulcers.