Analgesia induced by repeated exposure to low dose x-rays in mice, and involvement of the accessory olfactory system in modulation of the radiation effects

MÖNCH detector enables fast and low-dose free-propagation phase-contrast computed tomography of in situ mouse lungs

Due to the complexity of the underlying pathomechanism, in vivo mouse lung-disease models continue to be of great importance in preclinical respiratory research. Longitudinal studies following the cause of a disease or evaluating treatment efficacy are of particular interest but challenging due to the small size of the mouse lung and the fast breathing rate. Synchrotron-based in-line phase-contrast computed tomography imaging has been successfully applied in lung research in various applications, but mostly at dose levels that forbid longitudinal in vivo studies. Here, the novel charge-integrating hybrid detector MÖNCH is presented, which enables imaging of mouse lungs at a pixel size of 25 µm, in less than 10 s and with an entrance dose of about 70 mGy, which therefore will allow longitudinal lung disease studies to be performed in mouse models.

Avoidance behaviour and anxiety in rats irradiated with a sublethal dose of gamma-rays

The aim of this study was to assess, whether a sublethal dose of gamma-rays will influence the avoidance behaviour and anxiety in rats and whether the response to radiation depends on time of day of its application. Adult male Wistar rats were tested in elevated plus-maze, in hot plate test and in the light/dark box in 4 regular intervals during a day. After two weeks the animals were irradiated with a whole-body dose 6 Gy of gamma-rays. One day after irradiation the animals were repeatedly tested in the same way, as before irradiation. In the plus-maze test an increased level of anxiety was established. The irradiation significantly decreased the locomotor activity of rats, but the extent of exploratory and comfortable behaviour were not altered. After irradiation, an elevated aversion to the thermal stimulus was observed in the hot plate test. The effects of radiation were more pronounced in the light period of the day, than in the dark one. No significant differences in aversion to light were detected after irradiation. The obtained results indicate, that sublethal doses of ionizing radiation can markedly influence the reactivity of animals to adverse stimuli, their motoric activity and emotional status, as well.

Differential involvement of hippocampal vasoactive intestinal peptide in nociception of rats with a model of depression

The effects of VIP microinjected unilaterally (left or right) into the hippocampal CA1 area at a dose of 10 and 100 ng or bilaterally (10 ng), on nociception of male Wistar rats with a model of depression (bilateral olfactory bulbectomy-OBX) were studied. Nociception was examined applying mechanical pressure on the left hind paw of the rat (analgesy-meter test). It was found that in OBX rats the pain threshold is increased. VIP showed differential effects depending on the side and dose of administration. The pain threshold after left-side microinjections of VIP into the hippocampal CA1 area of OBX rats was significantly higher than that after injections into right-side. There are no significant differences between right-side VIP-treated and OBX rats. Bilateral microinjections of VIP also exerted antinociceptive effect. These findings suggest that the hippocampal lateralized antinociceptive effect of VIP in OBX rats depends on the hemisphere of injection and suggest that VIP-ergic neurons in the hippocampal CA1 area may play differential role in nociception of rats with a model of depression.

The Effects of Low-Dose, High-LET Radiation Exposure on Three Models of Behavior in C57BL/6 Mice

To investigate the behavioral consequences of exposure to whole-body irradiation such as might occur for astronauts during space flight, female C57BL/6 mice were exposed to 0, 0.1, 0.5 or 2 Gy accelerated iron ions (56Fe, Z = 26, beta = 0.9, LET = 148.2 keV/microm) of 1 GeV per nucleon using the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Animal testing began 2 weeks after exposure and continued for 8 weeks. Under these conditions, there were few significant effects of radiation on open-field, rotorod or acoustic startle activities at any of the times examined. The lack of radiation effects in these behavioral models appears to offer reassurance to NASA mission designers. These results suggest that there may be negligible effects of HZE radiation on many behaviors during a 2-8-week period immediately after radiation.

Marked depression of radiation-induced emesis in frogs following prior exposure to a brief dose of X-rays

Acute emesis response to harmful doses of X-rays on frogs (Rana porosa porosa) was examined. Results showed that the number of radioemesis events following exposure to 0.85 Gy was slightly higher than in the sham control animals. The increase in emesis action became more pronounced when the total dose of radiation was raised to 2.5 Gy. Only 1 frog out of a total of 12 did not show vomiting following radiation, while no response was observed in sham control animals. Note that animals in which the low dose rate of radiation was applied to whole body did not display any changes in the emesis response relative to control animals. The present studies, and those by others, showed that a brief dose of X-rays prior to a second exposure to a sub-lethal dose might induce a tolerance to radiation. An additional experiment was conducted to examine whether a small conditioning dose could induce a depression of radioemesis (tolerance) following an exposure to high dose X-ray. With prior exposure to 0.3 Gy, only 1 frog out of a total of 5 frogs vomited as a result of radiation exposure. Suppression of the emetic response became significant when the pre-radiation dose was decreased to 0.1 Gy. On the contrary, increasing the small conditioning dose to 0.5 Gy resulted in a remarkable rise of radiation-induced emesis. This results indicate that exposure to the smaller dose of X-rays elicits a tolerance effect to toxic dose level of radiation.Key words: emesis, hormesis, low-dose X-rays, resistance, frog.

Evidence for humoral effects on the radiation response of rat foot skin

The influence of perturbation of the physiologic state of the whole body on the outcome of radiation exposure has been examined in a rat foot model. Irradiation was carried out using 60Co gamma-rays. Moist desquamation was used as an endpoint. Rats were given a priming dose of 2 Gy, 4 Gy or 7 Gy to their whole body except their hind feet (partial body priming dose). After a variable time period both hind feet of these animals were irradiated with graded doses of 60Co gamma-rays. The incidence of moist desquamation in the irradiated feet of these animals was compared with the incidence of moist desquamation in animals that had not received the initial partial body priming dose. It was noticed that the incidence of moist desquamation in the rat foot skin of animals that received 7 Gy partial body priming dose 4 h prior to irradiation of their hind feet was significantly less than moist desquamation in control animals. The ED(50) value of 22.53+/-0.16 Gy for moist desquamation of the foot skin of control animals was significantly lower (p<0.01) than the value of 25.25+/-0.29 Gy obtained for animals that received a partial body priming dose of 7 Gy 4 h prior to irradiation of their hind feet. It was concluded that the response of rat foot skin to radiation was not purely the result of epidermal stem cell kill and that it can be modified by alterations in the overall physiological state of the animal's body brought about by a priming dose to the whole of the animal's body except the hind feet.

'Sensitivity syndromes' related to radiation exposures

The primary health effects of radiation are traditionally believed to result from cellular genetic damage. These effects are believed to result in a statistically detectable increase in the induction of cancer in exposed populations. A significant number of residents of areas affected by the Chernobyl disaster and workers involved in the clean-up ('liquidators') have reported debilitating physical illnesses that cannot be easily explained by a genetic effect. This paper presents results of a literature search that strongly suggests that a previously unrecognized neural pathway may be responsible for the induction of these debilities. In addition, a common link between radiation and chemical sensitivity syndromes may now be identified.

Acute mild hypothermia caused by a low dose of X-irradiation induces a protective effect against mid-lethal doses of X-rays, and a low level concentration of ozone may act as a radiomimetic

Acute changes in core body temperature following exposure to a low dose of X-rays were assessed in unanaesthetized and unrestrained mice. Radiotelemetry techniques were used to monitor core body temperature continuously. Following exposure to a 20 cGy dose of X-rays, the mice displayed a rapid and significant reduction in core body temperature relative to the sham-treated (non-irradiated) control animals. The present studies, and those by others, showed that pre-exposure to X-rays at doses as low as 20 cGy may result in a reduced mortality rate following subsequent exposure to X-rays at mid-lethal dose levels. This indicates an increased tolerance to radiation. An additional experiment was conducted to examine whether the reduction in the mortality rate following exposure to mid-lethal doses of radiation could be found when mice were subjected to a stressor, ozone inhalation, which induced a suppression in body temperature. The results showed that following inhalation of ozone at a concentration of 0.5 ppm, 93% of the treated animals survived a mid-lethal dose of radiation, whereas 50% of the sham-control animals died within 30 days. These results suggest that low-dose-induced tolerance to radiation may be dependent on a brief exposure to ozone, and a reduction in core temperature may be necessary to obtain tolerance effects in response to a mid-lethal dose of radiation.

Disappearance of stress-induced hyperthermia following a low dose of X-irradiation: involvement of the vomeronasal system in the modulation of the radiation-induced effects

When the rectal temperatures of group-housed mice are measured sequentially, the temperature of the last mouse to be measured is higher than that of the first mouse. The hyperthermia effect observed in the last animal to be measured forms the basis of an experimental paradigm for studying the neurobiology of anticipatory anxiety. Stress-induced hyperthermia (SIH) was calculated as the difference (delta T) between the basal temperature (the averages of the first three mice) and the final temperature (the averages of the last three mice) when the temperatures of the 15 mice were measured sequentially, with a 2 min interval between each temperature measurement. The hyperthermia observed in the last animals measured was abolished by prior treatment with X-irradiation at the relatively low dose of 5-15 cGy. Prevention of the SIH response could be found when the irradiation was confined to the head region only, suggesting the importance of the brain in the radiation-induced effect. Relatively higher doses of 25 or 35 cGy failed to reduce the hyperthermia stress effect. Furthermore, the effect of X-irradiation was not observed following olfactory bulbectomy or resection of the vomeronasal tract. These results indicate that the disappearance of SIH response may only be found following irradiation at low dose levels. Furthermore, the results implicate the olfactory system in the radiation-induced anti-stress effect.