Gene expression changes in mouse brain after exposure to low-dose ionizing radiation

E. Yin, D. O. Nelson, M. A. Coleman, L. E. Peterson, A. J. Wyrobek

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    160 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    Purpose: To characterize the cellular functions associated with the altered transcript profiles of mouse brain exposed to low-dose in vivo gamma-irradiation. Materials and methods: Cerebral RNA was isolated at 30 min and 4 h after whole-body irradiation at 0.1 or 2 Gy, hybridized to random oligonucleotide arrays, and evaluated for time and dose-response patterns by multifactorial analyses. Results: Brain irradiation modulated the expression patterns of 1574 genes, of which 855 showed more than 1.5-fold variation, about 30% of genes showed dose-dependent variations, including genes exclusively affected by 0.1 Gy. About 60% of genes showed time-dependent variation with more genes affected at 30 min than at 4 h. Early changes involved signal transduction, ion regulation and synaptic signalling. Later changes involved metabolic functions including myelin and protein synthesis. Low-dose radiation also modulated the expression of genes involved in stress response, cell-cycle control and DNA synthesis/repair. Conclusions: Doses of 0.1 Gy induced changes in gene expression that were qualitatively different from those at 2 Gy. The findings suggest that low-dose irradiation of the brain induces the expression of genes involved in protective and reparative functions, while down-modulating genes involved in neural signalling activity.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)759-775
    Number of pages17
    JournalInternational Journal of Radiation Biology
    Volume79
    Issue number10
    DOIs
    StatePublished - Oct 2003

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Radiological and Ultrasound Technology
    • Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging

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