Biomarkers of Alpha Particle Radiation Exposure
Abstract
The threat of terrorist-precipitated nuclear event places humans at risk for radiological exposures. Increased forensic capability through the development of biological tools tohelp identify those involved should be an integral to a national strategy against terrorism. Such capacities may potentially deter a mass casualty event and would be of benefit for rapidly identifying those who are exposed, if such a terrorist event were to occur. Among the isotopes to be used, those emitting alpha-particles pose the highest risk. Here we describe work towards the identification of gene-based biomarkers of alpha-particle radiation exposure. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMN) isolated from healthy individuals were irradiated with alpha-particle radiation at doses of 0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5Gy. Genomic strategies were then employed to identify transcripts that were differentially expressed relative to un-irradiated cells, 24 hours post-exposure. Stringent statistical analysis identified strong responding genes at each of the individual doses tested. Among these genes, 31 were common to all doses with high expression levels ranging from 2-10 fold. This subset of genes were further validated in complete whiteblood cell (WBC) populations and compared to X-ray exposure using quantitative real time PCR. The gene panel was responsive in the alpha particle exposed WBCs and was shown to exhibit a unique expression profile from X-irradiated cells. This initial data is promising and has provided a sub-set of dose-responsive genes to radiation exposure which may provide a means for developing detection strategies for special nuclear material handling and exposure in humans.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2014
- Accession Number
- AD1017007
Entities
People
- Vinita Chauhan
Organizations
- Health Canada