INFLIXIMAB, A TNF-α INHIBITOR HAS PROTECTIVE EFFECT ON EXPERIMENTAL BENIGN ESOPHAGEAL STRICTURE IN RATS

Aims:

Investigate the efficacy and safety of infliximab treatment on BES rats models.

Methods:

In 3 groups (Group A - sham-operated group, Group B - benign esophageal stricture establishment goup, Group C - infliximab treatment group) consisiting of 12 SD rats each, we evaluated the efficacy of IFX whether it can alleviate the stricture degree based on histolopathology, biochemical analysis which consists of Elisa and Western Blot. To investigate whether the potential alleviation of IFX is associated with apoptosis procedure, we used Tunel staining to calculate the apoptosis index. The baseline characters such as surviving rate and body weight gain were also included.

Results:

The baseline characters (Motality rate, basal weight gain) didn't show significant difference among three groups. The histopathology (HE+Masson) showed that Group C (Infliximab group) had bigger mean LA/TA value than Group B (BES group) (P < 0.001), and it had more collagen deposition in Group B compared with Group A and Group C.

The level of IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6 in Group B was higher than in the group C. The differences were all statistically significant. Protein expression of TNF-α, TGFb1, and Caspase-3 was significantly higher in the IFX-treated group (Group C) compared to the BES group (Group B) according to the confirmation of Western Blot.

As for the tunel staining, there was a reduction in the percentage of TUNEL-positive cells in IFX administration (Group C).

Conclusions:

Infliximab (TNF-α blockade) plays an essential role in mitigating esophageal stricture degree by inhibiting inflammation, fiberblasts, collagen deposition and ameliorating to keep homeostasis balance of epithelial cells apoptosis.

 

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