Abstract
Oral mucositis is an inflammation of the oral mucosa mainly resulting from the cytotoxic effect of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The literature shows anti-inflammatory action of l-cysteine (l-cys) involving hydrogen sulfide (H2S). In view of these properties, we investigate the effect of l-cys in oral mucositis induced by 5-FU in hamsters. The animals were divided into the following groups: saline 0.9%, mechanical trauma, 5-FU 60–40 mg/kg, l-cys 10/40 mg and NaHS 27 µg/kg. 5-FU was administered on days 1st to 2nd; 4th day excoriations were made on the mucosa; 5th–6th received l-cys and NaHS. For data analysis, histological analyses, mast cell count, inflammatory and antioxidants markers, and immunohistochemistry (cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2)/inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOs)/H2S) were performed. Results showed that l-cys decreased levels of inflammatory markers, mast cells, levels of COX-2, iNOS and increased levels of antioxidants markers and H2S when compared to the group 5-FU (p < 0.005). It is suggested that l-cys increases the H2S production with anti-inflammatory action in the 5-FU lesion.
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The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the National Council of Technological and Scientific Development—CNPq, and Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) of Brazil, and Research Foundation for the State of Piauí-FAPEPI.
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This work was supported by FAPEPI-CNPq (PRONEM- EDITAL FAPEPI/MCTIC/CNPq No. 008/2018).
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Khetyma Moreira Fonseca: methodology, validation, writing—original draft, and visualization. Mac Dionys Rodrigues da Costa: methodology. Valderlon Freitas da Silva: methodology. Jelson Lina de Carvalho: methodology. Ana Patrícia Oliveira: methodology and writing—review and editing. Francisca Beatriz de Melo Sousa: methodology and data curation. André Luis Fernandes Lopes: methodology and visualization. Conceição da Silva Martins: methodology and investigation. Letícia de Sousa Chaves: writing—review and editing. Lucas Antonio Duarte Nicolau: investigation. Gilberto Santos Cerqueira: conceptualization, resources, and project administration. Jand Venes Rolim Medeiros: conceptualization, resources, and supervision. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Khetyma Moreira Fonseca, and all the authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Fonseca, K.M., Macda RodriguesCosta, D., da Silva, V.F. et al. Anti-inflammatory effect of l-cysteine (a semi-essential amino acid) on 5-FU-induced oral mucositis in hamsters. Amino Acids 53, 1415–1430 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-021-03062-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-021-03062-z