Free heme exacerbates colonic injury induced by anti-cancer therapy.

ABSTRACT: Gastrointestinal inflammation and bleeding are commonly induced by cancer radiotherapy and chemotherapy but mechanisms are unclear. We demonstrated an increased number of infiltrating heme oxygenase-1 positive (HO-1+) macrophages (Mø, CD68+) and the levels of hemopexin (Hx) in human colonic biopsies from patients treated with radiation or chemoradiation versus non-irradiated controls or in the ischemic intestine compared to matched normal tissues. The presence of rectal bleeding in these patients was also correlated with higher HO-1+ cell infiltration. To functionally assess the role of free heme released in the gut, we employed myeloid-specific HO-1 knockout (LysM-Cre : Hmox1^flfl), hemopexin knockout (Hx^-/-) and control mice. Using LysM-Cre : Hmox1

SUBMITTER: Seika P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10277564 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature