Department of Pharmacology & Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States.
Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States.
Methods Cell Biol. 2023;180:147-175. doi: 10.1016/bs.mcb.2023.03.001. Epub 2023 May 13.
Given the potential risk of radiological terrorism and disasters, it is essential to develop plans to prepare for such events. In these hazardous scenarios, radiation-induced gastrointestinal (GI) syndrome is one of the many manifestations that may happen after the organism is exposed to a lethal dose of ionizing radiation. Therefore, it is critical to better understand how the intestinal tissues initiate and orchestrate regeneration following severe radiation injury. In this chapter, we aimed to provide several key considerations for researchers who utilize histological assessment to study radiation-induced intestinal injury. Rigor and reproducibility are critical in experimental design and can be achieved by maintaining proper radiation administration, maintaining consistency in sample collection, and selecting and using appropriate controls. We also provided technical details of histological preparation of the intestines with tips on dissecting, cleaning, fixing, and preserving. Step-by-step descriptions of both bundling and Swiss rolling are provided with discussion on how to choose between the two approaches. In the following section, we detailed several histological assessment methods and then provided suggestions on how to use histological assessment to study cellular dynamics in the small intestines. Finally, we touched on some non-histological assessments. We hope that the information provided in this chapter will contribute to the research society of radiation-induced intestinal injury with an ultimate goal of promoting the development of radiation countermeasures against the GI acute radiation syndrome.
鉴于放射性恐怖主义和灾害的潜在风险，制定应对此类事件的计划至关重要。在这些危险的情况下，辐射诱导的胃肠道（GI）综合征是机体暴露于致死剂量电离辐射后可能发生的多种表现之一。因此，深入了解肠道组织在严重辐射损伤后如何启动和协调再生至关重要。在本章中，我们旨在为利用组织学评估研究辐射诱导的肠道损伤的研究人员提供一些关键考虑因素。严格性和可重复性在实验设计中至关重要，可以通过以下方式实现：适当的辐射管理、样本收集的一致性、选择和使用适当的对照。我们还提供了肠道组织学准备的技术细节，包括有关解剖、清洁、固定和保存的提示。我们提供了捆绑和瑞士卷的分步说明，并讨论了如何在这两种方法之间进行选择。在下一节中，我们详细介绍了几种组织学评估方法，然后提供了如何使用组织学评估来研究小肠细胞动力学的建议。最后，我们还提到了一些非组织学评估方法。我们希望本章提供的信息能为辐射诱导的肠道损伤研究界做出贡献，最终目标是促进针对 GI 急性辐射综合征的辐射对策的发展。
