L-Arginine Pretreatment Reduces Intestinal Mucositis as Induced by 5-FU in Mice

Abstract

Beneficial effects of L-arginine on immune responses and bowel function have been reported. Mucositis is a side effect of chemotherapy treatment that affects approximately 40% of patients. This complication is characterized by inflammation that affects the gastrointestinal tract, increasing permeability and causing abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, which worsen the patient's nutritional status and increases morbimortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pretreating with 2% L-arginine supplementation in water on mucositis as induced by 5-fluorouracil (5-FU; a single dose of 200 mg/kg body weight) in Swiss male mice. The effect of L-arginine on weight, intestinal permeability, morphology, and the histopathological score of the small intestine (from 0 to 12), oxidative stress, myeloperoxidase (MPO), and N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAG) activities were evaluated. Intestinal length improvement was observed, in addition to the partial recovery of the mucosal architecture. L-arginine attenuated the histopathological score and MPO activity. There was also an improvement in intestinal permeability, despite weight loss after 5-FU administration. In conclusion, L-arginine can positively impact intestinal mucositis by promoting partial mucosal recovery, reducing inflammation and improving intestinal permeability.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Rosana das Graças Carvalho dos Santos for helping in the evaluation of intestinal permeability and the students of Laboratório de Aterosclerose e Bioquímica Nutricional for helping in the analysis.

Funding

We thank Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior for the financial support and Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa for the financial grant to English copy edit this article.