Establishment of a standardized rat model of chronic radiation proctitis and preliminary evaluation of its association with tubulin

Figure 5 High-dose irradiation induces significant degradation of cytoskeletal proteins in rat rectal tissues. A: Representative Western blot images of the cytoskeletal components α-tubulin and β-actin in rectal tissues at 2 weeks post-irradiation across different dose groups (15-35 Gy). Histone H3 was utilized as an internal loading control to represent total nuclear protein and confirm equal cell equivalent loading per lane, demonstrating stable expression across all doses; B and C: Quantitative densitometric analysis of relative α-tubulin (B) and β-actin (C) protein levels, normalized to histone H3. The data indicate a severe, dose-dependent loss of cytoskeletal integrity starting at 20 Gy. Data are presented as mean ± SD. ^aP < 0.05 compared to the 15 Gy group; ^bP < 0.0001 compared to the 15 Gy group. NS: Not significant.