Figure 2. Protective effects of GPI 15427 on CPT-11-induced jejunum damage. The histological analysis of jejunum sections stained with hematoxylin/eosin from animals treated with CPT-11 showed severe intestinal injury (A). In particular, there was necro-inflammatory debris in small foci within the epithelial cell layer with focal loss of cells; numerous neutrophils were observed among epithelial cells and edematous lamina propria as well as lymphatic infiltration was detected (B). The severity of mucosa damage was also demonstrated by the presence of apoptotic cells (C) and mitotic figures (D). Conversely, the sections of jejunum from rats treated with GPI 15427 + CPT-11 (E) demonstrate neither histological alterations nor the presence of apoptotic cells or/and mitotic figures. No histological changes were found in the tissue from vehicle-treated rats (F). Figures are representative of at least 3 experiments performed on different experimental days.