Genetic effect of chronic gamma radiation exposure in male mice

The frequency of reciprocal translocations (RT) in mouse spermatogonia induced by gamma-rays at doses of 1.5 to 4.5 Gy and dose rates of 2.7 X 10(-6), 5.8 X 10(-6), 9.4 X 10(-5) and 4.5 Gy/min was studied. A linear increase was observed in the RT frequency with increasing the dose, at all dose rates. At 9.4 X 10(-5) Gy/min the RT frequency was, on average, 10 times lower, as compared to that for a single acute dose rate of 4.5 Gy/min. Further reduction of the dose rate did not result in a decrease of the RT yield, and at the lowest dose rate of 2.7 X 10(-6) Gy/min (the dose being 3.0 Gy) the RT frequency was higher than using the same dose at dose rates of 5.8 X 10(-6) and 9.4 X 10(-5) Gy/min. Possible reasons for an increase in the RT frequency at low dose rates are considered. A study of the frequency of abnormal sperm heads (ASH) has shown that at the dose rate of 9.4 X 10(-5) Gy/min it is independent of an accumulated dose and is equal to the value obtained when exposing to an acute dose of 3.0 Gy. At dose rates of 2.7 X 10(-6) and 5.8 X 10(-6) Gy/min ASH frequencies were only slightly increased at all doses, as compared to the control level.     

Ionizing radiation alters neuronal excitability in hippocampal slices of the guinea pig

To investigate the effects of ionizing radiation on an isolated neuronal network without complicating systemic factors, slices of hippocampus from the guinea pig were isolated and studied in vitro. Slices were irradiated with a 60Co source and compared to paired, sham-irradiated controls. Electrophysiological activity in the CA 1 population of pyramidal cells was evoked by stimulation of the stratum radiatum. Analysis of the somatic and dendritic responses suggested sites of radiation damage. Orthodromically evoked activity was significantly decreased in slices receiving greater than 75 Gy gamma radiation. The effects were dose and dose-rate dependent. At 20 Gy/min, doses of 50 Gy and greater produced synaptic impairment while doses of 75 Gy and greater also produced postsynaptic damage (i.e., the ability of the synaptic response to generate an action potential). A lower dose rate, 5 Gy/min, reduced the sensitivity of synaptic damage to radiation exposure; synaptic impairment required a dose of 100 Gy or greater at the lower dose rate. In contrast, postsynaptic damage was not sensitive to dose rate. This study demonstrates that ionizing radiation can directly affect the integrated functional activity of neurons.     

Changes in the activity of 5'-nucleotidase and protein kinase of the hepatic plasma membrane depending on the dose rate in x-ray irradiation of rats]

In studying the effect of X-irradiation of rats with a dose of 4 Gy at different dose rates (96 and 4.6 cGy/min) the authors have revealed an increase in 5'-nucleotidase activity at a high dose rate (the first 24 h following irradiation) and a decrease in protein-kinase activity at a low dose rate (on days 3 and 7). The preinjection of alpha-tocopherol prevents the changes observed.     

Relationship between radiation induced adaptive response in human fibroblasts and changes in chromatin conformation

Chromatin conformation changes in the normal human fibroblasts VH-10 were studied by the method of anomalous viscosity time dependence (AVTD). Gamma-irradiation of cells in a dose range of 0.1–3 Gy caused an increase in maximal viscosity of cell lysates. Conversely, irradiation of cells with low doses of 0.5 or 2 cGy resulted in a decrease in the AVTD peaks with a maximum effect approximately 40 min after irradiation. The same exposure conditions were used to study a possible adaptive effect of low doses, measured by changes in cell survival. A primary dose of 2 cGy caused significant modification of cell response to a challenge dose. Approximately 20% protection to challenge doses of 0.5 Gy (p < 0.003), 2 Gy (p < 0.02) and 2.5 Gy (p < 0.002) was observed. However, the direction of this effect (adaptation or synergism) was found to be dependent on a challenge dose. The combined effect of 2 cGy and 1 Gy was significantly synergistic, while no modification was observed for 1.5 Gy and 3 Gy. A partial correlation was found between the AVTD changes and cell survival when the combined effect of a primary dose of 2 cGy and challenge dose was examined. The dose of 2 cGy alone increased survival by 16% (p < 0.0003). These results suggest that the low-dose induced effects on survival may be related to chromatin reorganization.     

Differential radiation sensitivity to morphological, functional and molecular changes of human thyroid tissues and bone marrow cells maintained in SCID mice

Morphology and function of human organs and tissues are well maintained in the improved SCID (severe combined immunodeficient) mice for a long period (approximately 3 years). To study the radiation-induced damage on human thyroid gland, human thyroid tissues transplanted to SCID mice were consecutively exposed to X-rays or 137Cs gamma-rays at high and low dose rates for approximately 2 years. Consecutive irradiation resulted in the disappearance of follicles and significant decrease of thyroid hormone secretion. Mutations in p53 and c-kit genes were induced significantly in human thyroid tissues from old head and neck cancer patients (av. 56.8 years, 4 males) and a Graves' disease patient (20 years, male) over the dose of 24 Gy (44.7+/-5.9 Gy, mean+/-S.E) and 11 Gy (20.2+/-7.8 Gy), respectively, while mutations were not detected at lower doses nor in unexposed matched controls (p < 0.01). There were significant differences in mutation frequency in the transplanted human thyroid tissues (31 years, female) between high dose rate (1.19 Gy/min; 8 in 20 tissues) and low dose rate (0.00023 Gy/min; 0 in 14 tissues) exposures (p < 0.01). Mutations were not detected in RET, K-ras and beta-catenin genes. Expression analysis by GeneChip indicated that gene expression was also well maintained in the transplanted human thyroid tissues. However, lower doses (1 or 3 Gy) of 137Cs gamma-rays can induce changes in gene expression in the transplanted human thyroid tissues. Furthermore, fatally irradiated SCID mice could survive with human bone marrow cell transplantation. When about half of mouse bone marrows were replaced by human bone marrow cells, the human bone marrow cells showed high sensitivity to gamma-irradiation; 28.0% and 0.45% survival after 0.5 and 2.0 Gy exposures, respectively.     

Status of hemapoiesis in residents of the Techa riverside villages in the period of maximum radiation exposure. Report 1. Evaluation of the cellular composition of peripheral blood and the role of comorbidities in the oppression of hemapoiesis

Residents of the Techa riverside villages chronically exposed to ionizing radiation (the average dose rate in 1951-1956 was 0.047 Gy/year, the maximum reached 2.44 Gy/year) developed marked changes in the cellular composition of peripheral blood. The maximum reduction of peripheral blood counts occurred in the years 1951-1953, after which the beginning of the restoration of cellularity to the control level was observed. The dose rate at this point (1956) was about 0.02 Gy/year. The factors of radiation and non-radiation nature (gender, the age at the onset of exposure, health related disorders) in different combinations affect the number of peripheral blood cells. The influence of dose rate of a chronic radiation exposure on a platelet count takes precedence over other factors. The factors of gender and dose rate determine the number of erythrocytes in exposed persons. The changes accompanying the health status and dose rate significantly affect the number of neutrophils. The influence of comorbidity, age and dose rate on the number of monocytes was noted. A lymphocyte count was mainly determined by the age at the onset of exposure and concomitant diseases. A joint influence of chronic radiation exposure and concomitant diseases increases a mutual action on erythro- and thrombocytopoiesis. The decrease of the dose rate was followed by a gradual predominance of the somatic disease influence on leukocyte (neutrophils, lymphocytes and monocytes) counts.     

Dose fractionation effects in low dose rate irradiation of jejunal crypt stem cells

Jejunal crypt survival after fractionated total body irradiation of C3H mice given at dose rates of 1.2 or 0.08 Gy/min was studied. The fractionation effect was more pronounced at the high dose rate than at the low dose rate. Analysis of the data according to the linear-quadratic survival curve model yielded an alpha/beta value at 1.2 Gy/min of 13.3 Gy and at 0.08 Gy/min of 96 Gy.     

Adaptive response in embryogenesis: V. Existence of two efficient dose-rate ranges for 0.3 Gy of priming irradiation to adapt mouse fetuses

The adaptive response is an important phenomenon in radiobiology. A study of the conditions essential for the induction of an adaptive response is of critical importance to understanding the novel biological defense mechanisms against the hazardous effects of radiation. In our previous studies, the specific dose and timing of radiation for induction of an adaptive response were studied in ICR mouse fetuses. We found that exposure of the fetuses on embryonic day 11 to a priming dose of 0.3 Gy significantly suppressed prenatal death and malformation induced by a challenging dose of radiation on embryonic day 12. Since a significant dose-rate effect has been observed in a variety of radiobiological phenomena, the effect of dose rate on the effectiveness of induction of an adaptive response by a priming dose of 0.3 Gy administered to fetuses on embryonic day 11 was investigated over the range from 0.06 to 5.0 Gy/min. The occurrence of apoptosis in limb buds, incidences of prenatal death and digital defects, and postnatal mortality induced by a challenging dose of 3.5 Gy given at 1.8 Gy/min to the fetuses on embryonic day 12 were the biological end points examined. Unexpectedly, effective induction of an adaptive response was observed within two dose-rate ranges for the same dose of priming radiation, from 0.18 to 0.98 Gy/ min and from 3.5 to 4.6 Gy/min, for reduction of the detrimental effect induced by a challenging dose of 3.5 Gy. In contrast, when the priming irradiation was delivered at a dose rate outside these two ranges, no protective effect was observed, and at some dose rates elevation of detrimental effects was observed. In general, neither a normal nor a reverse dose- rate effect was found in the dose-rate range tested. These results clearly indicated that the dose rate at which the priming irradiation was delivered played a crucial role in the induction of an adaptive response. This paper provides the first evidence for the existence of two dose-rate ranges for the same dose of priming radiation to successfully induce an adaptive response in mouse fetuses.     

Radiosensitivity of human bone marrow granulocyte-macrophage progenitor cells and stromal colony-forming cells: effect of dose rate

Study of the radiation biology of human bone marrow hematopoietic cells has been difficult since unseparated bone marrow cell preparations also contain other nonhematopoietic stromal cells. We tested the clonogenic survival after 0.05 or 2 Gy/min X irradiation using as target cells either fresh human bone marrow or nonadherent hematopoietic cells separated from stromal cells by the method of long-term bone marrow culture (LTBMC). Sequential nonadherent cell populations removed from LTBMC were enriched for hematopoietic progenitors forming granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming unit culture (GM-CFUc) that form colonies at Day 7, termed GM-CFUc7, or Day 14 termed GM-CFUc14. The results demonstrated no effect of dose rate on the D0 or n of fresh marrow GM-CFUc (colonies greater than or equal to 50 cells) after plating in a source of their obligatory growth factor, colony-stimulating factor (CSF) (GM-CFUc7 irradiated at 2 Gy/min, D0 = 1.02 +/- 0.05, n = 1.59 +/- 0.21; at 0.05 Gy/min, D0 = 1.07 +/- 0.03, n = 1.50 +/- 0.04; GM-CFUc14 at 2 Gy/min, D0 = 1.13 +/- 0.03, n = 1.43 +/- 0.03; at 0.05 Gy/min, D0 = 1.16 +/- 0.04, n = 1.34 +/- 0.05). There was a decrease in the radiosensitivity of GM-CFUc7 and GM-CFUc14 derived from nonadherent cells of long-term bone marrow cultures compared to fresh marrow that was observed at both dose rates. In contrast, adherent stromal cells irradiated at low compared to high dose rate showed a significantly greater radioresistance (Day 19 colonies of greater than or equal to 50 cells; at 2 Gy/min, D0 = 0.99 Gy, n = 1.03; at 0.05 Gy/min D0 = 1.46 Gy, n = 2.00). These data provide strong evidence for a difference in the radiosensitivity of human marrow hematopoietic progenitor compared to adherent stromal cells.     

Dose-rate effect on the induction of HPRT mutants in human G0 lymphocytes exposed in vitro to gamma radiation

The influence of dose rate on expression time, cell survival and mutant frequency at the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) locus was evaluated in human G(0) peripheral blood lymphocytes exposed in vitro to gamma rays at low (0.0014 Gy/min) and high (0.85 Gy/min) dose rates. A cloning assay performed on different days of postirradiation incubation indicated an 8-day maximum expression period for the induction of HPRT mutants at both high and low dose rates. Cell survival increased markedly with decreasing dose rate, yielding D(0) values of 3.04 Gy and 1.3 Gy at low and high dose rates, respectively. The D(0) of 3.04 Gy obtained at low dose rate could be attributed to the repair of sublethal DNA damage taking place during prolonged exposure to low-LET radiation. Regression analysis of the mutant frequency yielded slopes of 12.35 x 10(-6) and 3.66 x 10(-6) mutants per gray at high and low dose rate, respectively. A dose and dose-rate effectiveness factor of 3.4 indicated a marked dose-rate effect on the induced HPRT mutant frequency. The results indicate that information obtained from in vitro measurements of dose-rate effects in human G(0) lymphocytes may be a useful parameter for risk estimation in radiation protection.     

The effect of ionizing radiation on the Ca2+, Mg2(+)-ATPase activity of plasma membranes]

A study was made of a change in Ca2+, Mg(2+)-ATPase activity induced by the effect of ionizing radiation (5-10(4) Gy) on a thymocyte plasma membrane suspension. The Michaelis' constant and maximum rate of enzymic reactions were determined. With a dose of 10(3) Gy the structural changes in Ca2+, Mg(2+)-ATPase were shown to reduce the affinity of the substrate to an active enzyme center and to decrease the rate of the enzyme/substrate complex degradation.     

Experimental study of the effect of detoxification with enterosorbents on the function of irradiated myocardium

Increase in intoxication products, such as medium size peptides, indole and myoglobin, in urine was observed in Wistar rats after exposure of their chest to gamma-radiation at a dose of 6 Gy (dose rate 4 Gy/min). The rats exhibited moderate ischemic ECG. Administration of enterosorbents, such as Smekta and Clay of Kaluga deposit, to the irradiated rats resulted in the decrease of the toxicant content in the animals and the recovery of the cardiac function on the 28th day. These sorbents had practically a similar efficacy.     

The effect of high energy electron irradiation on blood-brain barrier permeability to haloperidol and stobadin in rats

Summary The heads of rats were irradiated by 4 MeV electrons in doses 90, 180, and 360 Gy. The observed times of deaths ranged 120–600, 60–420, and 150–370 min after 90, 180, and 360 Gy, respectively. A dose dependent decrease of the brain uptake index of haloperidol was observed 1 and 3 h post radiation. On the other hand an increased brain uptake index was found for stobadin after head irradiation with doses of 180 and 360 Gy. Regional cerebral blood flow, blood pressure, and heart rate were not significantly altered in the period following irradiation with 180 Gy. The observed changes in blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability seem to be the result of the damaged function of morphological structures forming the BBB rather than altered regional blood flow.     

The Influence of Ionizing Radiation on Proneness to Audiogenic Seizure and Behavior in Krushinsky–Molodkina Rats

Biophysics - We studied the effects of whole body gamma-radiation (4 Gy, dose rate 0.6 Gy/min) and proton-beam head irradiation (with an energy of 150 meV, 4 Gy and a dose rate of 0.8 Gy/min) on...     

The radioprotective effect of extracts of Archangelica officinalis Hoffm. and Ledum palustre L. on mice

A single injection of Archangelica officinalis Hoffm. and Ledum palustre L. extracts to mice 5-15 min before irradiation with a median lethal dose increased their survival rate. The most favourable effect was produced by a combination of the two preparations: by day 30 100% of animals survived after a dose of 6 Gy (LD50/30); 70% survived after a dose of 7.5 Gy (LD90/30), and 25% after a dose of 8 Gy (LD100/12). DMF for the extract mixture was 1.48.     

Histological changes in rat duodenum mucosa after whole-body gamma irradiation.

In order to understand the mechanisms of intestinal injuries due to ionizing radiation, various groups of rats have been whole-body irradiated by gamma-rays at two dose rates (1 Gy/min and 1 Gy/hr), three doses (1, 2 and 4 Gy) and two post-irradiation times (24 and 48 hr). Duodenum samples of the animals were prepared for light microscopy, according to classical methods for histology and TUNEL reaction. A small number of morphological differences were observed within the mucosa between the two dose rates used. The extent and the number of lesions were more important at the slower dose rate (1 Gy/hr) and increased with the total dose. Clear cavities were seen inside the lamina propria which appeared like capillaries free of blood cells. The mitotic index calculated from crypt cells showed a regular decrease with the dose, which was exacerbated at 48 hr post-irradiation. On the other hand, the apoptotic index increased with the dose and the postirradiation time. Our results lead to hypothesize another mechanism of intestinal mucosa renewal allowing to explain mucosa denudations observed after radiotherapy. Thus we propose a new concept in which the duodenal mucosa renewal may occur by whole villi shedding into the duodenal lumen.     

The effect of low dose rate on recovery of hemopoietic and stromal progenitor cells in gamma-irradiated mouse bone marrow

Long-term recovery of mouse hemopoietic stem cells (CFU-S and CFU-S per colony), granulocyte-macrophage precursor cells (GM-CFC), and stromal colony-forming units (CFU-F) after doses up to 12.5 Gy was almost complete by 1 year when the dose rate was reduced to 0.0005 Gy/min compared to incomplete recovery after doses up to only 6.5 Gy given at greater than 0.7 Gy/min. This sparing effect of dose rate on long-term hemopoietic recovery is in contrast to the generally reported lack of dependence on dose rate for acute survival of hemopoietic progenitors after doses up to 5 Gy. The present results are compatible with the hypothesis that good recovery of the stroma should be reflected in the long-term recovery of hemopoiesis.     

Assessment of DNA damage in multiple organs of mice after whole body X-irradiation using the comet assay

The comet assay was performed to elucidate the linearity of calibration curves and detection limits for DNA damage in multiple organs of whole body X-irradiated mice, and rates of reduction in DNA damage by DNA repair during the irradiation period were estimated in the respective organs by comparing the rates of increase in DNA damage at different absorbed dose rates of X-rays. Of the assay parameters, tail length and the percentage DNA in the tail showed a higher sensitivity to DNA damage in most organs than Olive tail moment. Data at the higher absorbed dose rates (2.22 or 1.44 Gy/min) showed good correlations between absorbed doses and these two parameters, with correlation coefficients of more than 0.7 in many organs. However, this assay had difficulty detecting DNA damage at the lower absorption dose rate (0.72 Gy/min). The estimated rates of increase in DNA damage and those of DNA repair during the irradiation period in the respective organs suggested differences in the radiosensitivity of nuclear DNA and DNA repair capacity among organs. Our results indicated that absorbed dose rates of 1.0-1.3 Gy/min or greater were needed to induce detectable DNA damages by the comet assay in many organs.     

The effective dosage as the stimulating exposure in fractionated gamma irradiation

The study of early neurological disturbances (END) in rats after fractionated gamma irradiation with doses of 37.5-225 Gy at dose rate of 30.11 Gy/min has demonstrated that the initial response of animals to pulse ionizing radiation is a function of the electric charge induced by ionizing radiation. A change in the probability of occurrence of each of the END symptoms, with the increased intervals between exposures, is merely an indirect indication of the eliminating mechanisms and is intricately connected with the irritating charge value. The period of dose half-elimination in 16 min. The threshold effective dose rate leading to END is of the order of 2.12 Gy/min. The proposed empiric relationships permit to correlate the probability of END symptom occurrence with the continuous quantitative parameter of fractionated irradiation, that is, with an effective dose as an analogue of the irritating effect.     

Functioning of the antioxidant system in epithelial cells of small intestine under the influence of ionizing radiation of low dose rate

The investigations of the functional state of the antioxidant system in epithelial cells from rat small intestine in dynamics after X-ray irradiation (0.1; 0.5 and 1.0 Gy) at a low absorbed dose rate (55 mGy/min) were performed. The obtained results point out the ambiguity of the antioxidant system reaction to the activation of oxidative processes at different doses of irradiation. The multidirectional changes of these antioxidant enzymatic activities whose functioning is characterized by the early post-irradiation recovery depending on the value of the absorbed dose were observed. The sensitivity of superoxide dismutase, glutathione transferase and glutathione peroxidase in mitochondria of epithelial cells to the irradiation exposure in the investigated range of absorbed doses was shown.