The effects of keratinocyte growth factor in preclinical models of mucositis

The epithelium of the oral cavity and small intestine of the gastrointestinal tract have a high rate of cell renewal and as such, are sensitive to cytotoxic therapies that kill rapidly dividing cells. Mucositis is a complication of cancer therapy where impairment of the regenerative capacity of the epithelium leads to atrophy, ulceration and a loss of barrier function. Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) is an epithelial cell‐specific growth and differentiation factor that is trophic for the mucosal epithelium of the gastrointestinal tract. In this study, KGF in normal animals caused epithelial thickening in the squamous epithelium of the oral cavity and increased crypt depth and villus height of the small intestine. It also appeared to regulate gene expression in these tissues including that of some antioxidant enzymes and intestinal trefoil protein. KGF has been shown to be efficacious in several preclinical models of mucositis where KGF pretreatment reduced weight loss typically seen during and after the course of therapy and significantly improved survival. At a tissue level KGF reduced atrophy, accelerated regrowth, and decreased ulcer formation of the oral epithelium after irradiation, and improved crypt survival and prevented villus atrophy in the small intestine of irradiated or chemotherapy‐treated mice. Preliminary studies suggest that its efficacy may be partly a consequence of the growth and differentiation effect, and also partly due to regulation of the expression of genes that play a role in mucosal protection. These data suggest that KGF may be useful for the prevention or treatment of mucositis in patients treated with regimens of cancer therapy that have gastrointestinal toxicity.