Effects of Radiation on the Histology of the Tongue and Lip Mucosa in Rats : Preliminary Research

Sagita Yudha; Aisyah Elliyanti; Eti Yerizel; Sukri Rahman

doi:10.24036/eksakta/vol27-iss03/696

EKSAKTA: Berkala Ilmiah Bidang MIPA

Open Access

Effects of Radiation on the Histology of the Tongue and Lip Mucosa in Rats : Preliminary Research

Sagita Yudha ¹

, Aisyah Elliyanti ²

, Eti Yerizel ³

, Sukri Rahman ⁴

¹ Doctoral Student in Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Andalas, Padang, Indonesia

² Department of Radiology, Radiotherapy, and Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Andalas, Padang, Indonesia

³ Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Andalas, Padang, Indonesia

⁴ Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Andalas, Padang, Indonesia

Published 2026-06-30

Vol. 27 No. 03 (2026) PAGES 374-381

DOI 10.24036/eksakta/vol27-iss03/696

Views / Downloads 23 22

Download PDF

Abstract

The tongue and lip mucosa, as tissues with high cell proliferation rates, are highly susceptible to injury caused by ionizing radiation. This study aimed to evaluate histological changes in the tongue and lip mucosa of rats after exposure to ionizing radiation at various doses. Nine rats were used, each consisting of three rats, divided into a negative control group (K) and three treatment groups receiving radiation doses of 13 Gy (30 seconds of radiation), 15 Gy (66 seconds of radiation), and 17 Gy (110 seconds of radiation). Samples of tongue and lip mucosa tissue were harvested after 7 days and processed for histological examination using Hematoxylin and Eosin (HE) staining at 100x objective magnification. The results of this preliminary study showed that radiation at 13 Gy caused epithelial erosion, loss of filiform papillae, subepithelial bullae formation, and acute inflammatory cell infiltration on the tongue. At 15 Gy, more extensive ulceration with subepithelial edema was observed. At 17 Gy, total epithelial loss with massive subepithelial edema and vascular dilatation occurs. This preliminary study concludes that the tongue mucosa exhibits greater radiation sensitivity than the lip mucosa, with a dose-dependent progression of damage ranging from erosion to total epithelial loss.

References

1

[1] Maria, O. M., Eliopoulos, N., & Muanza, T. (2017). Radiation-induced oral mucositis. Frontiers in oncology, 7, 89.

2

[2] Naidu, M. U. R., Ramana, G. V., Rani, P. U., Suman, A., & Roy, P. (2004). Chemotherapy-induced and/or radiation therapy-induced oral mucositis-complicating the treatment of cancer. Neoplasia, 6(5), 423-431.

3

[3] Trotti, A., Bellm, L. A., Epstein, J. B., Frame, D., Fuchs, H. J., Gwede, C. K., ... & Zilberberg, M. D. (2003). Mucositis incidence, severity and associated outcomes in patients with head and neck cancer receiving radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy: a systematic literature review. Radiotherapy and oncology, 66(3), 253-262.

4

[4] Sonis, S. T. (2007). Pathobiology of oral mucositis: novel insights and opportunities. The journal of supportive oncology, 5(9 Suppl 4), 3-11.

5

[5] Stone, H. B., Coleman, C. N., Anscher, M. S., & McBride, W. H. (2003). Effects of radiation on normal tissue: consequences and mechanisms. The lancet oncology, 4(9), 529-536.

6

[6] Sonis, S. T. (2004). The pathobiology of mucositis. Nature Reviews Cancer, 4(4), 277-284.

7

[7] Wardley, A. M., Booth, D., Roberts, S. A., Scarffe, J. H., & Potten, C. S. (1998). A quantitative histometric murine in vivo model of radiation-induced oral mucositis. Archives of oral biology, 43(7), 567-577.

8

[8] Nakajima, M., Inagi, K., & Hasumi, K. (2004). Radiation-induced mucositis: An animal model. Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery, 131(2), P198-P199.

9

[9] Buchanan, A. H., Rahm, A. K., & Williams, J. L. (2016). Alternate service delivery models in cancer genetic counseling: a mini-review. Frontiers in oncology, 6, 120.

10

[10] Cokkinides, V. E., Bandi, P., Siegel, R. L., & Jemal, A. (2012). Cancer‐related risk factors and preventive measures in US Hispanics/Latinos. CA: a cancer journal for clinicians, 62(6), 353-363.

11

[11] Vissink, A., Burlage, F. R., Spijkervet, F. K. L., Jansma, J., & Coppes, R. P. (2003). Prevention and treatment of the consequences of head and neck radiotherapy. Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine, 14(3), 213-225.

12

[12] Patel, A., Rajesh, S., Chandrashekhar, V. M., Rathnam, S., Shah, K., Rao, C. M., & Nandakumar, K. (2013). A rat model against chemotherapy plus radiation-induced oral mucositis. Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal, 21(4), 399-403.

13

[13] Elsaadany, B., El Kholy, S., El Rouby, D., Rashed, L., & Shouman, T. (2017). Effect of transplantation of bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells and platelets rich plasma on experimental model of radiation induced oral mucosal injury in albino rats. International Journal of Dentistry, 2017(1), 8634540.

14

[14] Toshkov, I. A., Gleiberman, A. S., Mett, V. L., Hutson, A. D., Singh, A. K., Gudkov, A. V., & Burdelya, L. G. (2017). Mitigation of radiation-induced epithelial damage by the TLR5 agonist entolimod in a mouse model of fractionated head and neck irradiation. Radiation research, 187(5), 570-580.

15

[15] De la Cal, C., Fernández-Solari, J., Mohn, C. E., Prestifilippo, J. P., Pugnaloni, A., Medina, V. A., & Elverdin, J. C. (2012). Radiation produces irreversible chronic dysfunction in the submandibular glands of the rat. The open dentistry journal, 6, 8.

16

[16] Vielmuth, F. (2022). Anatomy of the oral mucosa. In Diseases of the Oral Mucosa: Study Guide and Review (pp. 5-19). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

17

[17] Li, C. Y., Chen, X. H., Tao, X. A., Xia, J., & Cheng, B. (2011). The development and inflammatory features of radiotherapy-induced glossitis in rats. Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal, 16(3), e348-53.

18

[18] Al-Dasooqi, N., Sonis, S. T., Bowen, J. M., Bateman, E., Blijlevens, N., Gibson, R. J., ... & Mucositis Study Group of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer/International Society of Oral Oncology (MASCC/ISOO). (2013). Emerging evidence on the pathobiology of mucositis. Supportive care in cancer, 21(7), 2075-2083.

19

[19] Lalla, R. V., Bowen, J., Barasch, A., Elting, L., Epstein, J., Keefe, D. M., ... & Mucositis Guidelines Leadership Group of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer and International Society of Oral Oncology (MASCC/ISOO). (2014). MASCC/ISOO clinical practice guidelines for the management of mucositis secondary to cancer therapy. Cancer, 120(10), 1453-1461.

20

[20] Barasch, A., & Peterson, D. E. (2003). Risk factors for ulcerative oral mucositis in cancer patients: unanswered questions. Oral oncology, 39(2), 91-100.

21

[21] Vissink, A., Burlage, F. R., Spijkervet, F. K. L., Jansma, J., & Coppes, R. P. (2003). Prevention and treatment of the consequences of head and neck radiotherapy. Critical Reviews in Oral Biology & Medicine, 14(3), 213-225.

22

[22] Winning, T. A., & Townsend, G. C. (2000). Oral mucosal embryology and histology. Clinics in dermatology, 18(5), 499-511.

23

[23] Sønstevold, T., Johannessen, A. C., & Stuhr, L. (2015). A rat model of radiation injury in the mandibular area. Radiation oncology, 10(1), 129.

24

[24] Ala, M., Mohammad Jafari, R., Ala, M., Hejazi, S. M., Tavangar, S. M., Mahdavi, S. R., & Dehpour, A. R. (2022). Sildenafil improves radiation‐induced oral mucositis by attenuating oxidative stress, NF‐κB, ERK and JNK signalling pathways. Journal of cellular and molecular medicine, 26(16), 4556-4565.

25

[25] Juvkam, I. S., Zlygosteva, O., Arous, D., Galtung, H. K., Malinen, E., Søland, T. M., & Edin, N. J. (2023). A preclinical model to investigate normal tissue damage following fractionated radiotherapy to the head and neck. Journal of Radiation Research, 64(1), 44-52.

26

[26] Yu, W., Jiao, K., Wang, K., Li, X., Wan, Q., Qin, W., ... & Niu, L. (2025). Metabolic support protects mucosa from ferroptosis in radiation-induced mucositis. Nature communications.

27

[27] Matei, L. I., Neag, M. A., Mocan, L. P., Suflețel, R. T., Cuțaș, A., Onofrei, M. M., ... & Melincovici, C. S. (2024). The effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation emitted by mobile phones on rat parotid gland histology--an experimental study. European Review for Medical & Pharmacological Sciences, 28(20).

28

[28] Hassan, H. M., Abdeen, A. M., Abdelrahman, I. Y., Abdo, W., Mohammed, S. S., Abdeen, A., ... & Bikheet, M. M. (2023). Radioprotective potential of whey protein against gamma irradiation-induced lingual damage. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 14, 1293230.

29

[29] Nakashima, T., Uematsu, N., Shibamori, M., Sakurai, K., & Ishida, T. (2013). Establishment of an X-ray irradiation-induced glossitis model in rats: biphasic elevation of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics, 347(3), 660-668.

30

[30] Dai, M., Dai, X., Liang, Y., Li, X., Huang, H., & Zhao, W. (2025). Keratinocyte necroptosis promotes the progression of radiation-induced oral mucositis. BMC Oral Health, 25(1), 941.

31

[31] Aghel, S., Pouramir, M., Moghadamnia, A. A., Moslemi, D., Molania, T., Ghassemi, L., & Motallebnejad, M. (2014). Effect of Iranian propolis on salivary total antioxidant capacity in gamma-irradiated rats. Journal of dental research, dental clinics, dental prospects, 8(4), 235.

Effects of Radiation on the Histology of the Tongue and Lip Mucosa in Rats : Preliminary Research

Abstract

References

How to Cite

Cite Article

Article Update