Protective effect of α-lipoic acid against radiation-induced fibrosis in mice.

Radiation-induced fibrosis (RIF) is one of the most common late complications of radiation therapy. We found that a-lipoic acid (a -LA) effectively prevents RIF. In RIF a mouse model, leg contracture assay was used to test the in vivo efficacy of a -LA. alpha-LA suppressed the expression of pro-fibrotic genes after irradiation, both in vivo and in vitro, and inhibited the up-regulation of TGF-131-mediated p300/CBP activity. Thus, alpha-LA prevents radiation-induced fibrosis (RIF) by inhibiting the transcriptional activity of NF -KB through inhibition of histone acetyltransferase activity. a -LA is a new therapeutic methods that can be used in the prevention-treatment of RIF.