Scope: Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) represents positive effects in stress model, but the exact antioxidant remains unclear. This study aims to determine what GABA do and how GABA interfere on oxidative stress in the small intestine of radiation-induced intestinal injury (RIII) mice.
Methods and results: C57BL/6J mice are gavaged. (1) Investigating the effects of GABA (50 100 mg kg-1 BW d-1 ) on basic information of healthy mice, and the survival time of RIII mice. (2) Evaluating the effect between GABA and theanine (100 mg kg-1 BW d-1 ) to RIII mice on the small intestine, by observing jejunum pathology, oxidative stress in small intestine and its mitochondria, and apoptosis protein expression. GABA reduces the weight loss and prolongs the median survival time of RIII mice. GABA and theanine reduce liver hyperemia, protect the villus crypt of jejunum, increase the antioxidant of duodenum and its mitochondria, to maintain the normal function and morphology. Besides, GABA increases B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) expression and inhibits Caspase-3 activation, thereby inhibiting mitochondria-induced apoptosis.
Conclusion: GABA reduces the oxidative stress of small intestine in RIII mice, and maintains the normal morphology and function of mitochondria, which mechanism is that high Bcl-2 expression inhibits the autophagy of mitochondrial pathway, thus reducing intestinal barrier damage.
Keywords: oxidative stress; radioactive intestinal injury; the mitochondria; theanine; γ -amino butyric acid.
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