{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,29]],"date-time":"2026-08-29T22:53:45Z","timestamp":1788044025834,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,29]],"date-time":"2024-08-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1724889600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Tomography"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Radiation-induced lung injury (RILI), a serious side effect of thoracic radiotherapy, can lead to acute radiation pneumonitis (RP) and chronic pulmonary fibrosis (PF). Despite various interventions, no effective protocol exists to prevent pneumonitis. Oxytocin (OT), known for its anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic, and antioxidant properties, has not been explored for its potential in mitigating RILI. Materials and Methods: This study involved 24 female Wistar albino rats, divided into three groups: control group, radiation (RAD) + saline, and RAD + OT. The RAD groups received 18 Gy of whole-thorax irradiation. The RAD + OT group was treated with OT (0.1 mg\/kg\/day) intraperitoneally for 16 weeks. Computerizing tomography (CT) imaging and histopathological, biochemical, and blood gas analyses were performed to assess lung tissue damage and inflammation. Results: Histopathological examination showed significant reduction in alveolar wall thickening, inflammation, and vascular changes in the RAD + OT group compared to the RAD + saline group. Biochemical analysis revealed decreased levels of TGF-beta, VEGF, and PDGF, and increased BMP-7 and prostacyclin in the RAD + oxytocin group (p &lt; 0.05). Morphometric analysis indicated significant reductions in fibrosis, edema, and immune cell infiltration. CT imaging demonstrated near-normal lung parenchyma density in the RAD + oxytocin group (p &lt; 0.001). Conclusion: Oxytocin administration significantly mitigates radiation-induced pneumonitis in rats, implying that is has potential as a therapeutic agent for preventing and treating RILI.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/tomography10090101","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,29]],"date-time":"2024-08-29T11:33:37Z","timestamp":1724931217000},"page":"1342-1353","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Oxytocin: A Shield against Radiation-Induced Lung Injury in Rats"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2557-0600","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ahmet","family":"Kayal\u0131","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Izmir Katip \u00c7elebi University, 35620 Izmir, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Duygu Burcu","family":"Arda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Istanbul Taksim Research and Training Hospital, 34433 Istanbul, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2448-2337","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ejder Saylav","family":"Bora","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Izmir Katip \u00c7elebi University, 35620 Izmir, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4016-0522","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yi\u011fit","family":"Uyanikgil","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Ege University, 35030 Izmir, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5115-7815","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"\u00d6z\u00fcm","family":"Atasoy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Radiation Oncology, Giresun Training and Research Hospital, 28100 Giresun, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Oytun","family":"Erba\u015f","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Demiro\u011flu Bilim University, 34394 Istanbul, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,8,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1800994","DOI":"10.1183\/13993003.00994-2018","article-title":"Idiopathic interstitial pneumonia or idiopathic interstitial pneumonitis: What\u2019s in a name?","volume":"53","author":"Kolilekas","year":"2019","journal-title":"Eur. 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