Figure 6. BVES regulates intestinal crypt viability after radiation.

(A) qRT-PCR analysis comparing Bves mRNA expression in WT proximal small intestine prior to radiation vs. 4 hours (P=0.30, n=12), and 96 hours after 12 Gy radiation (*P=0.05, n=12). (B) Representative H&E stained sections and quantification of viable intestinal crypts in WT and Bves^−/− mice. Bves^−/− mice exhibited significantly greater crypt viability 96 hours after 12 Gy radiation (42.5 ± 7.8% vs. 64.4 ± 3.7% *P<0.05, n=17). Crypts were considered viable if 3 or more mitotic bodies were observed per crypt. 40 sequential, well-aligned crypts in the proximal one-third of the small intestine were counted per data point. The percent of surviving crypts was calculated using the following equation: (# of viable crypts/total # of crypts counted) × 100. (C) Images (left) and quantification (right) of crypt proliferation 96 hours after 12 Gy radiation (14.4 vs. 20.0 phospho-Histone H3⁺ cells/crypt, *P<0.05, n=17). (D) Images (left) and quantification (right) of apoptotic cells per crypt/villus unit (4.1 vs. 4.3 TUNEL⁺ cells/crypt-villus unit, P=0.79, n=17). Images were captured at 10× magnification (5B, left) or 100× magnification (5B, right, 5C, 5D).