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Updated: Oct 19, 2026

Quantitation of Endothelial Cell Adhesiveness In Vitro
Published on: June 18, 2015
Irradiation induces increase of adhesion molecules and accumulation of beta2-integrin-expressing cells in humans
J Handschel1, F J Prott, C Sunderkötter
1Department of Cranio- and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Münster, Germany.
Purpose:
The purpose of our investigation was to describe the dose- and time-dependent histomorphologic alterations of the irradiated tissue, the composition of the infiltrate, and the expression patterns of various adhesion molecules.
Methods And Materials:
We analyzed immunohistochemically alterations in oral mucosa in 13 head and neck cancer patients before radiotherapy and with 30 Gy and 60 Gy. All had oral mucosa irradiation, with a final dose of 60 Gy using conventional fractionation. Snap-frozen specimens were stained using the indirect immunperoxidase technique. Histomorphology was studied in paraffin-embedded sections. In addition, we determined the clinical degree of oral mucositis.
Results:
Histomorphologic evaluation showed no vascular damage. Irradiation caused a steep increase of beta2-integrin-bearing cells (p < 0.01), whereas the percentage of beta1-integrin-positive cells remained at low levels. Additionally we found an increase in the expression of endothelial intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) (p < 0.01) and E-selectin (p < 0.05), while endothelial vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) expression remained at very low levels.
Conclusion:
Our findings indicate that in radiation-induced oral mucositis there is no marked vascular damage until the end of radiotherapy. For recruitment of leukocytes, beta2 is more involved than beta1. Pharmaceuticals that block leukocyte adhesion to E-selectin or ICAM-1 may prevent radiation-mediated inflammation in oral mucosa.
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