Fig. 3From: Oral administration of cystine and theanine attenuates 5-fluorouracil-induced intestinal mucositis and diarrhea by suppressing both glutathione level decrease and ROS production in the small intestine of mucositis mouse modelEffects of CT on the induction of apoptosis and proliferation of small intestinal crypt cells in 5-FU-induced small intestine mucositis model mice. a Apoptosis was evaluated by the TUNEL assay. TUNEL-positive cells were counted in 10 small intestinal crypts per specimen under a light microscope. Values are expressed as the mean ± SEM. N = 5–6. * p < 0.05 vs 5-FU by the two-tailed Student’s t-test. b Cell proliferation activity was immunohistochemically measured using the anti-PCNA antibody. PCNA-positive cells were counted in intestinal crypts under a light microscope. The average number of PCNA-positive cells in each individual mouse was divided by the average number of PCNA-positive cells in normal mice and expressed as % PCNA. Values are expressed as the mean ± SEM. N = 5–6. * p < 0.05 vs 5-FU by the two-tailed Student’s t-testBack to article page