[Morpho-functional characteristic of oral mucosal epithelium after treatment with a cytostatic drug].

The effect of cytostatic drug cyclophosphamide (CY) on lingual epithelium was studied in 90 female mice using histological, morphometric, quantitative histochemical and immunohistochemical methods. CY (400 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally three times with a 48 h interval. Material was obtained 2 days after injections and 10-20 days after their discontinuation. CY treatment was shown to result in the damage of both surface epithelium of the tongue and the epithelium of minor lingual salivary glands. Damage to the surface epithelium was more pronounced on the ventral surface of the tongue and was associated mainly with the disturbances of its proliferation. Changes were less severe on the dorsal surface and were seen as the disturbances of epithelial differentiation and desquamation. Glandular epithelium was damaged to a lesser extent than the surface one, with serocytes being more sensitive to the cytotoxic injury than mucocytes. After cytostatic drug discontinuation, the tendency for the normalization of the epithelial characteristics was noted. Most persistent changes in the surface epithelium were found on the dorsal surface of the tongue and in the glandular epithelium--in the serous secretory portions of the salivary glands.