γ射线照后不同时间点人肝细胞基因差异表达谱的研究

目的：对γ射线照射后4和24 h人肝细胞株的差异表达基因进行筛选,为从基因水平上揭示放射性从业人员肝脏的早期损伤提供依据。方法：利用全基因组基因芯片技术,对人正常肝细胞7702给予不同剂量（0.5和1.0 Gy）γ射线照射不同时间（4和24 h）后的基因差异表达谱进行筛选和分析。结果：照后4 h在不同剂量水平上（0.5和1.0 Gy）筛选出差异表达基因218个;照后24 h不同剂量水平上（0.5和1.0 Gy）筛选出差异表达基因1 475个;0.5 Gy剂量水平上照后不同时间（4和24 h）筛选出差异表达基因235个;1.0 Gy剂量水平上照后不同时间（4和24 h）筛选差异表达基因170个;最后筛选出共同的差异表达基因129个;另外还发现了一些有意义的通路途径,如胰岛素合成与分泌途径等;同时为了验证基因芯片筛选结果的准确性,进一步采用SYBR绿色实时荧光定量PCR技术,对胰岛素生长因子2结合蛋白3（IGF2BP3）及早期响应因子1（EGR1）两个有意义且表达量稳定的辐射后差异表达基因进行了验证,结果显示其定量结果与芯片检测结果趋势一致。结论：γ射线辐照后共筛选出差异表达基因129个,辐射对人肝细胞的早期损伤表现为多靶点、多层次及多通路等特点。     

Medium-mediated intercellular communication is involved in bystander responses of X-ray-irradiated normal human fibroblasts

Although radiation-induced bystander effects have been demonstrated in a number of cell types, the studies have largely been performed using high linear energy transfer (LET) radiation, such as alpha-particles. The literature is contradictory on whether fibroblasts show bystander responses, especially after low LET radiation such as X- or gamma-rays and whether the same signal transmission pathways are involved. Herein, a novel transwell insert culture dish method is used to show that X-irradiation induces medium-mediated bystander effects in AGO1522 normal human fibroblasts. The frequency of micronuclei formation in unirradiated bystander cells increases from a background of about 6.5% to about 9-13% at all doses from 0.1 to 10 Gy to the irradiated cells. Induction of p21Waf1 protein and foci of gamma-H2AX in bystander cells is also independent of dose to the irradiated cells above 0.1 Gy. In addition, levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were increased persistently in directly irradiated cells up to 60 h after irradiation and in bystander cells for 30 h. Adding Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase to the medium decreases the formation of micronuclei and induction of p21Waf1 and gamma-H2AX foci in bystander cells, suggesting oxidative metabolism plays a role in the signaling pathways in bystander cells. The results of clonogenic assay of bystander cells showed that survival of bystander cells decreases from 0 to 0.5 Gy, and then is independent of the dose to irradiated cells from 0.5 to 10 Gy. Unlike the response with p21Waf1 expression, gamma-H2AX foci and micronuclei, adding SOD and catalase has no effect on the survival of bystander cells. The data suggest that irradiated cells release toxic factors other than ROS into the medium.     

Tumour growth delay following single dose irradiation of human melanoma xenografts. Correlations with tumour growth parameters, vascular structure and cellular radiosensitivity

The radiation response of 5 different lines of human melanoma xenografts was studied. Tumours grown s.c. in the flanks of athymic mice were exposed to single doses of 5-25 Gy and subsequently analysed with respect to specific growth delay. The variation in radiation response among these melanoma lines was almost as large as that reported for human tumour xenografts differing in histological type. The most radioresistant melanomas showed longer volume-doubling times, lower growth fractions, higher cell loss factors and lower vascular density than the most radiosensitive ones. The radiation response was not correlated to the fraction of cells in S-phase or the DNA content of the tumour cells. Cell suspensions prepared from the different melanomas, irradiated under aerobic conditions and assayed in soft agar, also showed large variability in radiation response. Specific growth delay after 15 Gy was found to be correlated to the surviving fraction measured in vitro after 6 Gy, but not clearly to the Do value. It is suggested that tumour growth characteristics in vivo as well as radiation response in vitro may be of prognostic value for prediction of radioresponsiveness of melanomas.     

Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes as In Vitro Model to Evaluate Genomic Instability Caused by Low Dose Radiation

Diagnostic and therapeutic radiation fields are planned so as to reduce side-effects while maximising the dose to site but effects on healthy tissues are inevitable. Radiation causes strand breaks in DNA of exposed cells which can lead to chromosomal aberrations and cause malfunction and cell death. Several researchers have highlighted the damaging effects of high dose radiation but still there is a lacuna in identifying damage due to low dose radiation used for diagnostic purposes. Blood is an easy resource to study genotoxicity and to estimate the effects of radiation. The micronucleus assay and chromosomal aberration can indicate genetic damage and our present aim was to establish these with lymphocytes in an in vitro model to predict the immediate effects low dose radiation. Blood was collected from healthy individuals and divided into 6 groups with increasing radiation dose i.e., 0Gy, 0.10Gy, 0.25Gy, 0.50Gy, 1Gy and 2Gy. The samples were irradiated in duplicates using a LINAC in the radiation oncology department. Standard protocols were applied for chromosomal aberration and micronucleus assays. Metaphases were stained in Giemsa and 200 were scored per sample for the detection of dicentric or acentric forms. For micronuclei detection, 200 metaphases. Giemsa stained binucleate cells per sample were analysed for any abnormality. The micronuclei (MN) frequency was increased in cells exposed to the entire range of doses (0.1- 2Gy) delivered. Controls showed minimal MN formation (2.0%0.05) with triple MN (5.6%2.0) frequency at the lowest dose. MN formation increased exponentially with the radiation dose thereafter with a maximum at 2Gy. Significantly elevated numbers of dicentric chromosomes were also observed, even at doses of 0.1- 0.5Gy, compared to controls, and acentric chromosomes were apparent at 2Gy. In conclusion we can state that lymphocytes can be effectively used to study direct effect of low dose radiation.     

Response of human tumor cells of varying radiosensitivity and radiocurability to fractionated irradiation.

The cytotoxic effects of radiation delivered in daily fractions of 2.0 Gy were examined in plateau phase cultures of human tumor cells of varying in vitro radiosensitivity, derived from tumors of varying radiocurability. Among the eight cell lines examined, three types of responses to fractionated irradiation were observed. In the group composed of tumor cell lines that were radioresistant in culture (D0 > 2 Gy) and derived from known local radiation failures or from tumor histologies associated with radiation failure, a gradual linear reduction in surviving fraction versus total dose was observed. In a second group, composed of cell lines that were radiosensitive in culture (D0 approximately 1 Gy) but derived from known radiation failures, the surviving fraction initially declined and began to plateau after 6 Gy (three fractions of 2 Gy). In the third group, composed of radiosensitive cell lines derived from tumors associated with high radiocurability, a rapid decline in surviving fraction versus total dose was observed. The in vitro response of human tumor cells to fractionated irradiation delivered at clinically relevant doses appears to be independent of in vitro X-ray sensitivity and p53 status but related to clinical radiocurability, suggesting a possible role in predicting tumor response to radiotherapy.     

电离辐射对人乳腺癌MCF7细胞系hR24L基因表达的影响

目的：研究电离辐射对人类DNA修复基因hR24L表达的影响。方法：通过RT－PCR从人乳腺癌MCF7细胞总RNA中扩增hR24L的开放阅读框＊（ORF）,经测序无突变后用γ射线照射细胞,照射后不同时间收集细胞,提取总RNA,用Northern印迹杂交分析hR24L表达变化,结果：hR24L基因的转录在电离辐射后1h后开始上升,2h达高峰,3h恢复正常,结论：该基因的表达具有损伤诱导性特点,对γ射线损伤有修复作用。     

Inhibiting homologous recombination decreases extrachromosomal amplification but has no effect on intrachromosomal amplification in methotrexate-resistant colon cancer cells

Gene amplification, which involves the two major topographical structures double minutes (DMs) and homegeneously stained region (HSR), is a common mechanism of treatment resistance in cancer and is initiated by DNA double-strand breaks. NHEJ, one of DSB repair pathways, is involved in gene amplification as we demonstrated previously. However, the involvement of homologous recombination, another DSB repair pathway, in gene amplification remains to be explored. To better understand the association between HR and gene amplification, we detected HR activity in DM- and HSR-containing MTX-resistant HT-29 colon cancer cells. In DM-containing MTX-resistant cells, we found increased homologous recombination activity compared with that in MTX-sensitive cells. Therefore, we suppressed HR activity by silencing BRCA1, the key player in the HR pathway. The attenuation of HR activity decreased the numbers of DMs and DM-form amplified gene copies and increased the exclusion of micronuclei and nuclear buds that contained DM-form amplification; these changes were accompanied by cell cycle acceleration and increased MTX sensitivity. In contrast, BRCA1 silencing did not influence the number of amplified genes and MTX sensitivity in HSR-containing MTX-resistant cells. In conclusion, our results suggest that the HR pathway plays different roles in extrachromosomal and intrachromosomal gene amplification and may be a new target to improve chemotherapeutic outcome by decreasing extrachromosomal amplification in cancer.     

Development of gene expression signatures for practical radiation biodosimetry

PURPOSE: In a large-scale radiologic emergency, estimates of exposure doses and radiation injury would be required for individuals without physical dosimeters. Current methods are inadequate for the task, so we are developing gene expression profiles for radiation biodosimetry. This approach could provide both an estimate of physical radiation dose and an indication of the extent of individual injury or future risk. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We used whole genome microarray expression profiling as a discovery platform to identify genes with the potential to predict radiation dose across an exposure range relevant for medical decision making in a radiologic emergency. Human peripheral blood from 10 healthy donors was irradiated ex vivo, and global gene expression was measured both 6 and 24 h after exposure. RESULTS: A 74-gene signature was identified that distinguishes between four radiation doses (0.5, 2, 5, and 8 Gy) and controls. More than one third of these genes are regulated by TP53. A nearest centroid classifier using these same 74 genes correctly predicted 98% of samples taken either 6 h or 24 h after treatment as unexposed, exposed to 0.5, 2, or > or =5 Gy. Expression patterns of five genes (CDKN1A, FDXR, SESN1, BBC3, and PHPT1) from this signature were also confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. CONCLUSION: The ability of a single gene set to predict radiation dose throughout a window of time without need for individual pre-exposure controls represents an important advance in the development of gene expression for biodosimetry.     

Cancer stem cell overexpression of nicotinamide N-methyltransferase enhances cellular radiation resistance

Background

Cancer stem cells are thought to be a radioresistant population and may be the seeds for recurrence after radiotherapy. Using tumorigenic clones of retroviral immortalized human mesenchymal stem cell with small differences in their phenotype, we investigated possible genetic expression that could explain cancer stem cell radiation resistance.

Methods

Tumorigenic mesenchymal cancer stem cell clones BB3 and CE8 were irradiated at varying doses and assayed for clonogenic surviving fraction. Altered gene expression before and after 2 Gy was assessed by Affymetric exon chip analysis and further validated with q-RT-PCR using TaqMan probes.

Results

The CE8 clone was more radiation resistant than the BB3 clone. From a pool of 15 validated genes with altered expression in the CE8 clone, we found the enzyme nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT) more than 5-fold upregulated. In-depth pathway analysis found the genes involved in cancer, proliferation, DNA repair and cell death.

Conclusions

The higher radiation resistance in clone CE8 is likely due to NNMT overexpression. The higher levels of NNMT could affect the cellular damage resistance through depletion of the accessible amounts of nicotinamide, which is a known inhibitor of cellular DNA repair mechanisms.     

Microscopic and flow cytometric study of micronuclei in iododeoxyuridine labelled cells irradiated with soft x-rays

Iododeoxyuridine labelled (IUdR(+)) and unlabelled (IUdR(-)) CHO cells irradiated with 2 Gy of soft x-rays showed only minor differences in the kinetics of micronuclei formation during the first 20 hours postirradiation period. Between 20 to 40 hours, the IUdR(-) cells showed approximately a constant number # of micronuclei while the number of micronuclei in IUdR(+) cells was still increasing. The frequency of micronuclei was higher in IUdR(+) cells compared to IUdR(-) cells at 24 hours after irradiation with various doses up to 4.0 Gy. Dose modifying factors were found to be 1.3 (microscopic evaluation) and 1.8 (flow cytometric evaluation). Flow cytometry with use of two parameters, fluorescence from propidium iodide and light scattering, seems to be a good tool to estimate the frequency of micronuclei in CHO cells in the dose range up to about 4 Gy. At higher doses perturbation of the cell cycle and the appearance of dying cells will influence the results.     

X射线对人肺癌A549细胞Bmi-1表达的影响

目的：研究X射线照射对人肺癌A549细胞株中Bmi-1 mRNA和蛋白表达的影响。方法：用不同剂量（0、2、4、6Gy）的X射线照射体外培养的人肺癌A549细胞株,分别采用实时荧光定量PCR和Western blot技术检测照射0、6、12、24、48和72 h后Bmi-1 mRNA和蛋白的表达水平。结果：与对照组比较,2、4、6 Gy X射线照射A549细胞后48 h内Bmi-1 mRNA表达升高,差异均有统计学意义（P〈0.05）;（2 Gy 48 h组除外）,2 Gy组照射后6 h、4 Gy组12 h、6 Gy组24 h升高最显著（P〈0.05）。照射后48 h内蛋白表达升高（4Gy除外）,48 h后蛋白表达逐渐下降,至72 h时接近未照射组水平。各时间点（除4 Gy 48 h和72 h外）的蛋白表达与对照组相比差异均有统计学意义（P〈0.05）。结论：在本实验条件下,2～6 Gy剂量X射线照射48 h内可使人肺癌A549细胞Bmi-1表达升高,之后表达逐渐降低。     

Influence of cellular radiation sensitivity on local tumor control of human melanoma xenografts given fractionated radiation treatment

The radiocurability of human melanoma xenografts was studied by treating tumors with multiple fractions of 2.0 Gy and using local tumor control at 180 days as end point. Three melanoma lines (E. F., G. E., M. F.) that are only weakly immunogenic in athymic nude mice (BALB/c-nu/nu/BOM) were selected for the study. The tumor radiocurability was found to differ considerably among the lines; the radiation doses required to achieve local control of 50% of the tumors irradiated (TCD50s; mean +/- SE) were 85.0 +/- 4.7 Gy (E.F.), 60.3 +/- 5.4 Gy (G.E.), and 99.3 +/- 5.7 Gy (M. F.). The radiation sensitivity in vitro of cells isolated directly from tumors also differed significantly among the lines. The TCD50 showed positive correlations with the surviving fraction after 2.0 Gy in vitro, the surviving fraction after two doses of 2.0 Gy (4-h interval) in vitro, and the surviving fraction after 4.0 Gy at a low dose rate (1.25 cGy/min) in vitro. Thus, the differences in tumor radiocurability among the lines were mainly a consequence of cellular differences in the capacity to repair radiation damage. Comparisons of measured TCD50s with theoretical TCD50s, calculated from cell-surviving fractions measured in vitro after radiation treatment in vitro or in vivo, suggested that other tumor parameters, e.g., rate of population between radiation fractions, also had a significant impact on the TCD50. However, this study strongly supports the assumptions that the surviving fraction at 2.0 Gy in vitro is a useful parameter for prediction of clinical tumor radiocurability.     

Effects of radiation on growth of two human tumour cell lines surviving a previous high dose, low dose-rate, radionuclide exposure

Effects of radiation on growth of two human tumour cell lines that survived a previous high dose, low dose-rate radionuclide exposure simulating intensive radionuclide therapy, were analyzed. The purpose was to investigate whether the survivors gained therapy induced changes in growth and radiation response. The U118MG, ParRes (parental resistant), and U373MG, ParSen (parental sensitive), glioma cells were used because they are known to be low dose-rate radiation resistant and sensitive, respectively. These cells were initially exposed to high dose, low dose-rate radiation for 24 h and surviving U118MG and U373MG cells formed new cultures called SurRes (surviving resistant) and SurSen (surviving sensitive), respectively. All four cell types were then exposed to graded acute radiation doses, 0-8 Gy, and analyzed for radiation induced growth disturbances. They were also analyzed regarding DNA-content and cell cycle distributions. The SurRes cells regained in most cases the same growth rate, had the same growth delays and showed generally a similar response as the original ParRes cells to the 0-8 Gy exposures. In contrast, the SurSen cells had in all cases slower growth rate and longer growth delays than the original ParSen cells after the 0-8 Gy exposures. There were no signs of radiation-induced radioresistance. The slow growing SurSen cells contained about 80% more DNA and had more cells in G1 and fewer in G2 than the ParSen cells. The conclusion is that tumour cells surviving high dose, low dose-rate, radionuclide therapy, afterwards can react differently to a new radiation exposure.     

60Coγ射线诱导人淋巴细胞线粒体COXⅡ基因表达改变的研究

目的：研究电离辐射诱导人外周血永生化淋巴细胞株中线粒体COXⅡ基因表达水平的变化,以期为探索放射敏感生物标志物和解决放射生物学领域中快速剂量估算的难题提供科学依据。方法：采用不同剂量（0～15 Gy）~（60）Coγ射线照射指数生长期的人淋巴细胞株,于照射后不同时间点（0～72 h）收集细胞提取总RNA和总蛋白,分别用实时荧光定量PCR和Western blot方法测定COXⅡ基因表达水平的变化。结果：~（60）Coγ射线照射后的各个时间点上,COXⅡ基因在mRNA水平的变化无明显规律性。在蛋白水平上,与对照组相比,~（60）Coγ射线照射4和12 h后COXⅡ基因表达水平无显著变化（P〉0.05）,照射后24、48和72 h COXⅡ基因表达水平显著上调并且在不同范围内呈现良好的剂量-效应关系（P〈0.05）。对比相同照射时间点COXⅡ基因的mRNA和蛋白水平的表达水平变化发现,两者无必然一致的趋势,但照射后48和72 h,COXⅡ蛋白的表达水平与照射时间呈良好的线性关系。结论：~（60）Coγ射线照射后48和72 h,COXⅡ蛋白表达水平与照射时间呈良好的线性关系,可作为新的辐射损伤标志物进一步研究验证。     

Construction of double suicide genes system controlled by MDR1 promoter with targeted expression in drug-resistant glioma cells

The multiple drug resistance protein (MDR1) is frequently overexpressed in human glioma. The aim of this study is to clone the MDR1 promoter from C6/ADR, construct the double suicide genes expressive vector controlled by MDR1 promoter, and explore its targeted expression in C6/ADR cells. MDR1 promoter from C6/ADR genomic DNA, which was linked with T vector, was amplified by using Polymerase chain reaction (PCR). After cut by NdeI and HindIII, MDR1 promoter was cloned into pcDNA3-TK (thymidine kinase) plasmid. The cytosine deaminase (CD) gene from pcDNA3-CD-TK plasmid was directly cloned into the above vector to construct pcDNA3-MDR1-promoter-CD-TK vector. Then this vector was transfected into C6 and C6/ADR cells respectively by liposome. After selection by G418, the tumor cell lines were stably established. Then these cell lines were examined through PCR and RT-PCR to respectively detect the integration and expression of TK and CD genes. The results showed the length and sequence of MDR1 promoter amplified by PCR were confirmed by DNA sequencing. The pcDNA3-MDR1-promoter-CD-TK expression vectors were constructed successfully. PCR indicated the double suicide genes were integrated into C6 and C6/ADR cells. RT-PCR reveled that CD and TK genes expressed in C6/ADR/CD-TK cells, whereas not in C6/CD-TK cells. In conclusions, construction of expressive vector containing double suicide genes controlled by MDR1 promoter with targeted expression in C6/ADR will provide a sound basis for targeted gene therapy for multidrug resistance (MDR) glioma.     

Screening and cloning of multi-drug resistant genes in HL-60/MDR cells

ObjectiveTo screen and clone multi-drug resistance (MDR) related genes in MDR acute myeloid leukemia cells (HL-60/MDR).MethodsHL-60/MDR was established using All-Trans Retinoic Acid. With the HL-60 cells as “tester” and HL60/MDR as “driver”, the cDNA library of HL-60/MDR was established by suppression subtractive hybridization. Then 12 of the resulting subtracted cDNA clones were selected for DNA sequencing and homology analysis. The obtained expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were analyzed with the GenBank BLASTN program to identify sequence homologies to known genes.ResultsThe HL-60/MDR cells had different multi-drug resistance to six kinds of chemotherapeutic drugs. The 211 positive gene clones in differential cDNA library of HL-60/MDR cells were amplified with PCR and 46 gene clones exhibited differential expression (ratio >3). Twelve gene clones with significant differential expression (ratio >5) were screened out to homology analysis. Of these, 11 matched known genes and the rest 1 showed no significant homology to human or non-human known sequences. It was named as gene clone HA117.ConclusionsThis effort provides the partial list of genes differential expressed in HL-60/MDR cells and a novel gene HA117 was found to be related to MDR. Identification of these genes contributes to our understanding of MDR development, and potentially provides candidate target genes to overcome MDR.     

Direct and indirect modulation of ornithine decarboxylase and cyclooxygenase by UVB radiation in human skin cells

Exposure to solar ultraviolet (UV) B radiation is responsible for skin inflammation and tumour progression. Cyclooxygenase and ornithine decarboxylase are believed to be involved in such processes since they participate in the synthesis of mediators of inflammation and cell differentiation, respectively. We have investigated the in vitro modulation of expression of such genes by UVB radiation in different skin cell lines. We have observed that accumulation of ornithine decarboxylase mRNA is unaffected by even high UVB doses in both human epidermal keratinocytes and dermal fibroblasts, whereas cyclooxygenase-2 levels were significantly up-regulated by low UVB doses in KB human epidermoid keratinocytes. Depletion of total intracellular glutathione levels in KB cells amplified the activation, revealing a role for an oxidative component of UVB in modulating cyclooxygenase gene expression. Transfer of medium from UVB irradiated keratinocytes to fibroblasts resulted in a significant activation of cyclooxygenase expression and activity, while ornithine decarboxylase levels were unaffected. We conclude that UVB radiation can activate cyclooxygenase gene expression in human skin cells both by direct activation pathways or indirectly by inducing a paracrine mechanism.