Abstract

Background. Radiotherapy is an important component of cancer treatment, but radiation exposure may cause structural damage to normal tissues, including the gastrointestinal tract. Radiation-induced injury of the intestinal mucosa may involve changes in epithelial cells, crypt architecture, and inflammatory cellular responses. The use of natural plant-derived agents for the correction of radiation-associated tissue damage is therefore of interest. Objective. To investigate morphological and morphometric changes in the colon of rats following radiotherapy in an experimental model of testicular cancer and to evaluate the changes associated with Tatar thistle tincture administration. Materials and Methods. Six-month-old white rats were used in the experiment. Experimental testicular cancer was induced using 7,12-dimethylbenzanthracene. The animals were distributed into control and experimental groups, including animals with induced testicular cancer, animals receiving radiotherapy, animals receiving Tatar thistle tincture, and animals receiving combined radiotherapy and Tatar thistle tincture. Colon tissues were examined histologically using hematoxylin and eosin staining. Alcian blue staining was used to assess mucopolysaccharides and goblet cells. Morphometric parameters included crypt depth and the number of goblet, columnar, neutrophil, lymphocyte, and macrophage cells. Results. Radiotherapy was associated with a reduction in crypt depth from 173.51 ± 0.41 μm in the control group to 156.12 ± 0.37 μm. The number of goblet cells decreased from 66.55 ± 0.51 to 61.27 ± 0.54, while columnar cells decreased from 32.62 ± 5.47 to 18.98 ± 3.10. Following combined radiotherapy and Tatar thistle tincture administration, crypt depth was 171.24 ± 1.63 μm, the number of goblet cells was 63.75 ± 3.57, and the number of columnar cells was 30.29 ± 2.05. The combined-treatment group also demonstrated increased numbers of lymphocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils in the examined mucosa. Conclusion. Radiotherapy in rats with experimental testicular cancer was associated with morphological alterations of the colonic mucosa, including changes in crypt depth and epithelial cell populations. Administration of Tatar thistle tincture after radiotherapy was associated with partial normalization of the investigated morphometric parameters and changes in the cellular composition of the colonic mucosa.