The impacts of dosage and route of administration of Methotrexate on induction intestinal mucositis in rats: a comparative pathological study

AbstractMethotrexate (MTX)-induced intestinal mucositis is one of the most frequent and expeditious animal models of mucositis. However, multiple methods of MTX dosing exist in the literature. Hence, to improve the reliability and utility of this model, the present study aimed to compare multiple schedules of MTX dosing for the development of intestinal mucositis in rats. A total of 56 male Wistar rats (8-week-old) were randomly allocated into seven equal groups. The control group was treated with saline intraperitoneally (IP), and experimental groups received MTX at five different single doses of 15  mg/kg (MTX15), 20 mg/kg (MTX20), 25 mg/kg (MTX25), 35 mg/kg (MTX35), and 45 mg/kg (MTX45). In addition, a group was treated with three repeated subcutaneous doses of MTX (2.5 mg/kg/24 h for 3 days) (MTX2.5SC). Four days after the MTX injection, all animals were sacrificed, their blood and j ejunal samples were collected for biochemical, hematological, and histopathological assessments. Evident intestinal mucositis was developed in MTX25, MTX35, MTX45, and MTX2.5SC. The highest pathological score of mucositis and hepatorenal damage were observed in the MTX45 group; meanwhile, the pathol ogical scores of MTX25, MTX35, and MTX2.5SC groups were statistically identical. The results of hematological, biochemical, and histopathological assays confirm that the dosages of 25 mg/kg (once, IP) and 2.5 mg/kg (3-time SC) of MTX are good choices for developing a mucositis animal mod...
Source: Comparative Clinical Pathology - Category: Pathology Source Type: research