Effects of retinoic acid and zinc on the treatment of caustic esophageal burns

Purpose An experimental study was carried out to investigate the efficacy of an anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative agent all- trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and an antioxidant agent zinc sulphate (ZnSO 4 ) in the prevention of stricture after caustic esophageal burn in rats. Methods Esophageal burn was induced using 50% NaOH. Rats were divided into four groups as follows: group A (sham; n = 8), group B (control; n = 8), group C (treated with ATRA; n = 8) and group D (treated with ZnSO 4 ; n = 8). All rats were killed on the 28th day and esophageal tissues were evaluated for histopathologic damage score, hydroxyproline (HP) content and TGF-β1 expression. Results Significant difference was detected in terms of histopathologic damage score between groups B and C ( p = 0.002). Although mean HP levels of groups C and D were lower than group B, statistical comparison was not significant. TGF-β1 expression in group C was significantly lower than group B. Conclusion Zinc has not been found effective in the prevention of stricture formation. The results indicate that ATRA has a preventive effect in the development of fibrosis in an experimental model of caustic esophageal burns in rats.