Protection of Radiation-Induced Damage to the Hematopoietic System, Small Intestine and Salivary Glands in Rats by JNJ7777120 Compound, a Histamine H4 Ligand
Figure 3
Effect of JNJ7777120 on radiation-induced morphological, proliferative and apoptotic alterations in the rat SMG.
(A) SMG histopathology. (a,e) Normal histological appearance of untreated and (b,f) JNJ7777120-treated SMG (c, g). SMG of irradiated rats displaying damage in the epithelial architecture of the granular convoluted ducts, mild edema (red arrow), partial loss of eosinophilic secretor granular material and vacuoles (arrow head). (d,h) SMG of JNJ7777120-treated and irradiated animals showing preserved structure organization of secretor granules, with normal appearance of granular convoluted ducts with eosinophilic secretion. (a–d) H&E staining. (e–h) PAS staining. (i) Occasional TUNEL-positive cells in glandular duct cells in untreated and (j) JNJ777120-treated rats. (k) Massive presence of TUNEL-positive cells in ductal and acinar cells of glands of irradiated rats. (l) Significant reduction of TUNEL-positive cells in glands of treated and irradiated rats. (m,n) Similar PCNA immunoreactivity in SMG from untreated and JNJ7777120-treated rats. (o) Almost total absence of PCNA immunoreactivity in irradiated gland. (p) Partial preservation of PCNA-positive cells in treated and irradiated glands. Arrows indicate positive cells. Pictures were taken at 630x-fold magnification. Scale bar= 20 µm. (B) Average number of apoptotic cells and PCNA-positive cells are shown. Error bars represent the means ± SEM. **P<0.01, ***P<0.001 vs. Untreated; # P<0.05, # # # P<0.001 vs. Untreated-5Gy.