Influence of a mixture of radioprotectors on the cell renewal in the duodenum of x-irradiated mice

BALB/c mice pre-treated with a mixture of 2-βaminoethylisothiouronium-Br-HBr, glutathione and serotonin were exposed to 1350 R of x-rays. The duration of the generation time of the stem cells in the duodenum, the number of labelled or non-labelled nuclei, the mitosis, the karyorrhectic and pyknotic cells and the migration time of the crypt cells along the villi, were determined. The mixture of radioprotectors diminishes the radiation-induced lesions in the stem cells of the small intestine, but does not improve the delayed migration of crypt cells along the villi. This effect on the transit time results from an increase in the generation time of the stem cells. It is postulated that the delay of migration of the stem cells along the villi and the protection offered by the mixture of radioprotectors allow the protected intestinal crypts to cover the villi before they become denuded.