Effects of a Single Dose of X-Ray Irradiation on MMP-9 Expression and Morphology of the Cerebellum Cortex of Adult Rats.

Although radiation is a strategy widely used to inhibit cancer progression, which includes those of the neck and head, there are still few experimental reports on radiation effects in the cerebellum, particularly on the morphology of its cortex layers and on the Matrix metalloproteinases' (MMPs') expression, which, recently, seems to be involved in the progression of some mental disorders. Therefore, in the present study, we evaluated the morphology of the cerebellum close to the expression of MMP-9 from 4 up to 60 days after a 15-Gy X-ray single dose of X-ray irradiation had been applied to the heads of healthy adult male rats. The cerebellum of the control and irradiated groups was submitted for an analysis of cell Purkinje count, nuclear perimeter, and chromatin density using morphometric estimatives obtained from the Feulgen histochemistry reaction.

Initial damage produced by a single 15-Gy x-ray irradiation to the rat calvaria skin.

Background: Calvaria skin has a reduced thickness, and its initial damage produced by irradiation was scarcely reported. We aimed to identify the initial effects of x-ray irradiation in the rat calvaria skin.

Methods: After approval by the Animal Ethical Committee, calvaria skin sections of five Wistar rats per time point were evaluated on days 4, 9, 14, and 25 following a single 15-Gy x-ray irradiation of the head.