Selenium as an adjuvant for modification of radiation response |
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Authors: | Bagher Farhood Keywan Mortezaee Elahe Motevaseli Hanifeh Mirtavoos-Mahyari Dheyauldeen Shabeeb Ahmed Eleojo Musa Nafiseh Sadat Sanikhani Masoud Najafi Amirhossein Ahmadi |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Medical Physics and Radiology, Faculty of Paramedical Sciences, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran;2. Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran;3. Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran;4. Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran;5. Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Misan, Misan, Iraq;6. Department of Medical Physics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran;7. Radiology and Nuclear Medicine Department, School of Paramedical Sciences, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran;8. Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran |
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Abstract: | Ionizing radiation plays a central role in several medical and industrial purposes. In spite of the beneficial effects of ionizing radiation, there are some concerns related to accidental exposure that could pose a threat to the lives of exposed people. This issue is also very critical for triage of injured people in a possible terror event or nuclear disaster. The most common side effects of ionizing radiation are experienced in cancer patients who had undergone radiotherapy. For complete eradication of tumors, there is a need for high doses of ionizing radiation. However, these high doses lead to severe toxicities in adjacent organs. Management of normal tissue toxicity may be achieved via modulation of radiation responses in both normal and malignant cells. It has been suggested that treatment of patients with some adjuvant agents may be useful for amelioration of radiation toxicity or sensitization of tumor cells. However, there are always some concerns for possible severe toxicities and protection of tumor cells, which in turn affect radiotherapy outcomes. Selenium is a trace element in the body that has shown potent antioxidant and radioprotective effects for many years. Selenium can potently stimulate antioxidant defense of cells, especially via upregulation of glutathione (GSH) level and glutathione peroxidase activity. Some studies in recent years have shown that selenium is able to mitigate radiation toxicity when administered after exposure. These studies suggest that selenium may be a useful radiomitigator for an accidental radiation event. Molecular and cellular studies have revealed that selenium protects different normal cells against radiation, while it may sensitize tumor cells. These differential effects of selenium have also been revealed in some clinical studies. In the present study, we aimed to review the radiomitigative and radioprotective effects of selenium on normal cells/tissues, as well as its radiosensitive effect on cancer cells. |
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Keywords: | apoptosis cancer glutathione (GSH) mitigation neoplasm normal tissues injury radiation radioprotection radiosensitization radiotherapy redox selenium |
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