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Alzheimer's Disease (AD) represents a major health problem without effective treatments. As the incidence of the disease will continue to rise, it is imperative to find new treatment options to halt or slow disease progression. In recent years, several groups have begun to study the utility of low total dose radiation therapy (LTDRT) to inhibit some of the pathological features of AD and improve cognition in a variety of animal models. These preclinical studies have led to Phase 1 and 2 trials in different centers around the world. In this review, we present and interpret the pre-clinical evidence report some preliminary clinical data from a Phase 2 trial in early-stage AD patients., (©2023 by Radiation Research Society. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.)

Exposure to infectious microbes is a likely confounder after a nuclear terrorism event. In combination with radiation, morbidity and mortality from an infection may increase significantly. Pulmonary damage after low-dose low-LET irradiation is characterized by an initial diffuse alveolar inflammation. By contrast, inhaled fungal spores produce localized damage around pulmonary bronchioles. In the present study, we assessed lung injury in C57BL/6 mice after combined exposures to whole-body X radiation and inhaled fungal spores. Either animals were exposed to Aspergillus spores and immediately irradiated with 2 Gy, or the inoculation and irradiation were separated by 8 weeks. Pulmonary injury was assessed at 24 and 48 h and 1, 2, 4, 8, and 24 weeks later using standard H&E-stained sections and compared with sham-treated age-matched controls. Immunohistochemistry for invasive inflammatory cells (macrophages, neutrophils and B and T lymphocytes) was performed. A semi-quantitative assessment of pulmonary injury was made using three distinct parameters: local infiltration of inflammatory cells, diffuse inflammation, and thickening and distortion of alveolar architecture. Radiation-induced changes in lung architecture were most evident during the first 2 weeks postexposure. Fungal changes were seen over the first 4 weeks. Simultaneous combined exposures significantly increased the duration of acute pulmonary damage up to 24 weeks (P < 0.01). In contrast, administration of the fungus 8 weeks after irradiation did not produce enhanced levels of acute pulmonary damage. These data imply that the inhalation of fungal spores at the time of a radiation exposure alters the susceptibility of the lungs to radiation-induced injury., (© 2011 by Radiation Research Society)

Electronic brachytherapy systems are being developed that can deliver X rays of varying energy depending on the material of a secondary target. A copper target produces characteristic 8 keV X rays. Our aim was to determine whether 8 keV X rays might deliver greater biological effectiveness than megavoltage photons. Cells of the U251 human glioma cell line were used to compare the biological effects of 8 keV X rays and (60)Co gamma rays in terms of relative biological effectiveness (RBE), oxygen enhancement ratio (OER), and DNA damage. The RBE at 50% and 10% survival was 2.6 and 1.9, respectively. At 50% survival, the OER for cells treated with 8 keV X rays was 1.6 compared with 3.0 for (60)Co gamma rays. The numbers of H2AX foci per Gy after treatment with 8 keV X rays and (60)Co gamma rays were similar; however, the size of the foci generated at 8 keV was significantly larger, possibly indicating more complex DNA damage. The mean area of H2AX foci generated by 8 keV X rays was 0.785 microm(2) (95% CI: 0.756-0.814) compared with 0.491 microm(2) (95% CI: 0.462-0.520) for (60)Co gamma rays (P < 0.0001). Characteristic 8 keV X rays produce two to three times the biological effectiveness of megavoltage photons, with a radiobiological profile similar to higher-LET radiations.

Flow cytometry is an invaluable technique in research and clinical laboratories. The technique has been applied extensively to many areas of radiation research at both the experimental and clinical level. In the past few years, there has been a significant increase in the capabilities of modern flow cytometers to undertake multicolor analysis in a user-friendly manner. The developments in cytometric technology are being matched by the rapid development of new reagents, new fluorochromes and new platforms such as bead arrays. These developments are facilitating many new applications in both basic and clinical research that have relevance for many fields of biology, including radiation research. This review provides a historical overview of the application of flow cytometry to radiobiology and an update on how technology and reagents have changed and cites examples of new applications relevant to radiation researchers. In addition, some entirely new flow instrumentation is currently under development that has significant potential for applications in radiation research.

One of the earliest cellular responses to radiation-induced DNA damage is the phosphorylation of the histone variant H2AX (gamma-H2AX). gamma-H2AX facilitates the local concentration and focus formation of numerous repair-related proteins within the vicinity of DNA DSBs. Previously, we have shown that low-dose hyper-radiosensitivity (HRS), the excessive sensitivity of mammalian cells to very low doses of ionizing radiation, is a response specific to G(2)-phase cells and is attributed to evasion of an ATM-dependent G(2)-phase cell cycle checkpoint. To further define the mechanism of low-dose hyper-radiosensitivity, we investigated the relationship between the recognition of radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks as defined by gamma-H2AX staining and the incidence of HRS in three pairs of isogenic cell lines with known differences in radiosensitivity and DNA repair functionality (disparate RAS, ATM or DNA-PKcs status). Marked differences between the six cell lines in cell survival were observed after high-dose exposures (>1 Gy) reflective of the DNA repair capabilities of the individual six cell lines. In contrast, the absence of functional ATM or DNA-PK activity did not affect cell survival outcome below 0.2 Gy, supporting the concept that HRS is a measure of radiation sensitivity in the absence of fully functional repair. No relationship was evident between the initial numbers of DNA DSBs scored immediately after either low- or high-dose radiation exposure with cell survival for any of the cell lines, indicating that the prevalence of HRS is not related to recognition of DNA DSBs. However, residual DNA DSB damage as indicated by the persistence of gamma-H2AX foci 4 h after exposure was significantly correlated with cell survival after exposure to 2 Gy. This observation suggests that the persistence of gamma-H2AX foci could be adopted as a surrogate assay of cellular radiosensitivity to predict clinical radiation responsiveness.

We irradiated different cellular compartments and measured changes in expression of the FOS gene at the mRNA and protein levels. [(3)H]Thymidine and tritiated water were used to irradiate the nucleus and the whole cell, respectively. (125)I-Concanavalin A binding was used to irradiate the cell membrane differentially. Changes in FOS mRNA and protein levels were measured using semi-quantitative RT-PCR and SDS-PAGE Western blotting, respectively. Irradiation of the nucleus or the whole cell at a dose rate of 0.075 Gy/h caused no change in the level of FOS mRNA expression, but modestly (1.5-fold) induced FOS protein after 0.5 h. Irradiation of the nucleus at a dose rate of 0.43 Gy/h induced FOS mRNA by 1.5-fold after 0.5 h, but there was no significant effect after whole-cell irradiation. FOS protein was transiently induced 2.5-fold above control levels 0.5 h after a 0. 43-Gy/h exposure of the nucleus or the whole cell. Irradiation of the cell membrane at a dose rate of 1.8 Gy/h for up to 2 h caused no change in the levels of expression of FOS mRNA or protein, but a dose rate of 6.8 Gy/h transiently increased the level of FOS mRNA 3-fold after 0.5 h. These data demonstrate the complexity of the cellular response to radiation-induced damage at low doses. The lack of quantitative agreement between the transcript and protein levels for FOS suggests a role for post-transcriptional regulation.

We have isolated a novel gene, DIR1, from L132 cells that is transiently repressed after exposure to low radiation doses and has a potential role in induced radioresistance. Molecular and cellular characterization of this gene reveals that it is unique but has similarities to a family of heat-shock-related proteins known as immunophilins. These have been implicated in various cellular functions including general stress responses and control of the cell cycle. Antisense strategies have demonstrated that the DIR1 gene also appears to have some involvement in the control of the cell cycle. Furthermore, there appears be a potential role for this gene product in the phenomenon of induced radioresistance through a mechanism that increases the rate of DNA repair in cells exposed to X rays and subsequently increases the cells' resistance to radiation. This is the first description of an immunophilin-like gene that has a possible role in adaptive/inducible responses to X rays in mammalian cells.

Both kidneys of 13 mature female Large White pigs were irradiated with a single dose of 9.8 Gy 60Co gamma rays. The pigs were killed serially between 2 to 24 weeks after irradiation. One hour prior to sacrifice bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) (500 mg/pig) was injected intravenously. At postmortem the kidneys were removed and tissue was taken to prepare cell suspensions. The labeling index (LI) of these suspensions was determined using flow cytometry. In vivo BrdU incorporation in tubular and glomerular cells was determined immunohistochemically. The kinetics of glomerular and tubular cells was evaluated by counting the number of labeled cells/glomerulus and the number of labeled tubular cells/field of view. An average of 1200 glomeruli and 1500 fields of view/time were counted. Similar analyses were performed on renal tissue from unirradiated control animals. Flow cytometry revealed rapid and significant increases in the LI of kidney cells; 2 weeks after irradiation the LI increased from a control value of 0.18 +/- 0.01 to 1.23 +/- 0.22% (P < 0.001). By 4 weeks the maximal value of 2.45 +/- 0.36% was seen; the LI then declined progressively but at 24 weeks after irradiation still remained significantly above control values (P < 0.001). A similar pattern of response was determined by counting the labeled glomerular and tubular cells identified immunohistochemically. However, the increase in labeled glomerular cells occurred 2 weeks after irradiation, whereas that for the tubules occurred 4 weeks after irradiation. These findings indicate that irradiation of the kidney, classically regarded as a "late-responding" organ, is associated with rapid and significant changes in the kinetics of both tubular and glomerular cells.

The magnitude of the delay of cells in the phases of the cell cycle after irradiation may be related to the radioresponsiveness of tumor cell populations. In this study we have quantified division delay in two mouse tumors in vivo after single and fractionated doses of X rays and single doses of neutrons. The incorporation of bromodeoxyuridine and flow cytometry provided a sensitive and quantitative method to detect cell cycle perturbations after radiation treatment. The more rapidly growing SAF tumor showed less G2-phase delay per gray than a more slowly proliferating tumor, the Rh (0.9 vs 1.8 h). In addition, the SAF tumor failed to show any G1/S-phase delay while the Rh tumor experienced a longer G1-phase delay than that measured for G2 phase (3.1 vs 1.8 h). There was a trend in both tumors for lower doses to be more effective in producing cell cycle delays. Neutrons caused longer G2-phase delays on a unit dose basis, 2.5 and 5.4 h for the SAF and Rh tumors, respectively. The RBE for neutrons for division delay was found to be 2.9 and 2.8 for the SAF and Rh tumors, while the RBE for growth delay was 3.4 and 3.5. Fractionation of the X-ray dose caused a reduction in division delay at higher total doses (10 or 12 Gy) but was without effect at the lower dose studied (6 Gy). These studies show the feasibility of measuring cell cycle delays in vivo, and future developments are suggested for a possible predictive test in patients receiving radiotherapy.