The progression of small bowel
ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury causes cells in the intestinal tract to undergo
necrosis, necessitating surgical resection, which may result in loss of intestinal function. Therefore, developing therapeutic agents that can prevent IR injury at early stages and suppress its progression is imperative. As IR injury may be closely related to oxidative stress,
antioxidants can be effective therapeutic agents. Our
silicon (Si)-based agent, an
antioxidant, generated a large amount of
hydrogen in the intestinal tract for a prolonged period after
oral administration. As it has been effective for
ulcerative colitis,
renal failure, and IR injury during skin flap
transplantation, it could be effective for small intestinal IR injury. Herein, we investigated the efficacy of an Si-based agent in a mouse model of small intestinal IR injury. The Si-based agent suppressed the apoptosis of small intestinal epithelial cells by reducing the oxidative stress induced by IR injury. In addition, the thickness of the mucosal layer in the small intestine of the Si-based agent-administered group was significantly higher than that in the untreated group, revealing that Si-based agent is effective against small intestinal IR
injuries. In the future, Si-based agents may improve the success rate of small intestine
transplantation.