Radiation-induced gastrointestinal syndrome (RIGS) is a serious side effect with limited effective therapies. Moreover, the high radiosensitivity of the intestine is a limiting factor for definitive radiotherapy against abdominal malignancies. (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-Gallat (EGCG), a major polyphenol in green tea, is a free radical scavenger and potent antioxidant agent, has been widely studied for cancer chemoprevention. Besides, EGCG has also been shown to ameliorate radiation-induced multiple tissues damage, but its effects on radiation-induced intestinal injury have not been determined yet. Present mouse studies, we demonstrate that EGCG pre-administration not only prolonged the survival time of lethally irradiated mice, but also reduced radiation-induced intestinal mucosal injury and apoptosis and also improve crypt-villus structural. Pre-treatment with EGCG significantly increased the number of Lgr5+ intestinal stem cells (ISCs) and their progeny cells, the Ki67+ instantaneous amplifying cells. In addition, EGCG decreased the expression of ?H2AX which are representative of DNA double- strand breaks and maintained endogenous antioxidant status by increasing the ability of antioxidant. In vitro, we further demonstrated that EGCG enhanced the viability of human intestinal epithelial HIEC-6 cells against ionizing radiation and decreased apoptosis induced by X-ray radiation. Moreover, EGCG decreased DNA double strand break and oxidative DNA damage in irradiated HIEC-6 cells and the level of ROS. In conclusion, EGCG promoted intestinal repair following radiation injury which could be a new strategy for alleviating RIGS in patients undergoing lower- abdominal radiotherapy.
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