Suitability of commonly used housekeeping genes in gene expression studies for space radiation research

Research on the effects of ionizing radiation exposure involves the use of real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) for measuring changes in gene expression. Several variables need to be controlled for gene expression analysis, such as different amounts of starting material between the samples, variations in enzymatic efficiencies of the reverse transcription step, and differences in RNA integrity. Normalization of the obtained data to an invariant endogenous control gene (reference gene) is the elementary step in relative quantification strategy. There is a strong correlation between the quality of the normalized data and the stability of the reference gene itself. This is especially relevant when the samples have been obtained after exposure to radiation qualities inducing different amounts and kinds of damage, leading to effects on cell cycle delays or even on cell cycle blocks. In order to determine suitable reference genes as internal controls in qRT-PCR assays after exposure to ionizing radiation, we studied the gene expression levels of nine commonly used reference genes which are constitutively expressed in A549 lung cancer cells. Expression levels obtained for ACTB, B2M, GAPDH, PBGD, 18S rRNA, G6PDH, HPRT, UBC, TFRC and SDHA were determined after exposure to 2 and 6 Gy X-radiation. Gene expression data for Growth arrest and damage-inducible gene 45 (GADD45α) and Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (CDKN1A/p21CIP1) were selected to elucidate the influence of normalization by using appropriate and inappropriate internal control genes. According to these results, we strongly recommend the use of a panel of reference genes instead of only one.