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Toprani SM, Scheibler C, Mordukhovich I, McNeely E, Nagel ZD. Cosmic Ionizing Radiation: A DNA Damaging Agent That May Underly Excess Cancer in Flight Crews. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:7670. [PMID: 39062911 PMCID: PMC11277465 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25147670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2024] [Revised: 06/20/2024] [Accepted: 06/30/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration has officially classified flight crews (FC) consisting of commercial pilots, cabin crew, or flight attendants as "radiation workers" since 1994 due to the potential for cosmic ionizing radiation (CIR) exposure at cruising altitudes originating from solar activity and galactic sources. Several epidemiological studies have documented elevated incidence and mortality for several cancers in FC, but it has not yet been possible to establish whether this is attributable to CIR. CIR and its constituents are known to cause a myriad of DNA lesions, which can lead to carcinogenesis unless DNA repair mechanisms remove them. But critical knowledge gaps exist with regard to the dosimetry of CIR, the role of other genotoxic exposures among FC, and whether possible biological mechanisms underlying higher cancer rates observed in FC exist. This review summarizes our understanding of the role of DNA damage and repair responses relevant to exposure to CIR in FC. We aimed to stimulate new research directions and provide information that will be useful for guiding regulatory, public health, and medical decision-making to protect and mitigate the risks for those who travel by air.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sneh M. Toprani
- John B. Little Center for Radiation Sciences, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA;
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA; (C.S.); (I.M.); (E.M.)
| | - Christopher Scheibler
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA; (C.S.); (I.M.); (E.M.)
| | - Irina Mordukhovich
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA; (C.S.); (I.M.); (E.M.)
- Sustainability and Health Initiative (SHINE), Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Eileen McNeely
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA; (C.S.); (I.M.); (E.M.)
- Sustainability and Health Initiative (SHINE), Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Zachary D. Nagel
- John B. Little Center for Radiation Sciences, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA;
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA; (C.S.); (I.M.); (E.M.)
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Kargar-Shouroki F, Halvani GH, Sharmandehmola FA. Effect of simultaneous exposure to inhalational anesthetics and radiation on the adaptive response in operating room personnel. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2023; 30:10128-10135. [PMID: 36070043 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-22873-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Some operating room personnel, such as orthopedic surgeons, are exposed simultaneously to inhalational anesthetics (IAs) and radiation that both can cause DNA damage. Some studies have shown that low doses of radiation reduce DNA damage when the cells are followed by a higher dose of the same or related agent. This study, therefore, set out to compare DNA damage in the anesthesiologists, radiologists, orthopedic surgeons, and healthcare staff (non-exposed group). In this cross-sectional study, breathing zone concentrations of anesthetic gas nitrous oxide (N2O) were measured in the studied groups using standard method. Additionally, DNA damage was measured by micronucleus (MN) assay. The mean concentrations of N2O in the anesthesiologists and orthopedic surgeons were 450.27 ± 327.44 ppm and 313.64 ± 216.14 ppm, respectively. The mean annual exposure to X-rays radiation in radiologists and orthopedic surgeons was 15.65 ± 8.46 mSy/year and 3.56 ± 1.32 mSy/year, respectively. MN frequencies were significantly higher in anesthesiologists and radiologists exposed to IAs and X-rays radiation respectively than in the non-exposed healthcare staff. While, there were no statistically significant differences between MN frequencies of orthopedic surgeons exposed to both IAs and radiation and healthcare staff. These findings suggest that an earlier exposure of orthopedic surgeons to a small dose of ionizing radiation can increase their resistance to genotoxicity caused by high doses of N2O, a phenomenon that is called adaptive response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Kargar-Shouroki
- Occupational Health Research Center, Department of Occupational Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
| | - Gholam Hossein Halvani
- Occupational Health Research Center, Department of Occupational Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
| | - Fatemeh Alsadat Sharmandehmola
- Occupational Health Research Center, Department of Occupational Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
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Mollaee PF, Azimian H, Ghadim NZ, Dolat E, Sheykhoo A, Bahreyni-Toossi MT. The role of intrinsic radiosensitivity in the low-dose adaptive response induction in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. J Cancer Res Ther 2023; 19:S737-S742. [PMID: 38384048 DOI: 10.4103/jcrt.jcrt_978_22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/06/2022] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Parisa Fakour Mollaee
- Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Hosein Azimian
- Medical Physics Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Navid Zafari Ghadim
- Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Elham Dolat
- Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Asma Sheykhoo
- Medical Physics Department, Reza Radiation Oncology Center, Mashhad, Iran
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Changes in Radiosensitivity to Gamma-Rays of Lymphocytes from Hyperthyroid Patients Treated with I-131. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms231710156. [PMID: 36077557 PMCID: PMC9456272 DOI: 10.3390/ijms231710156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Revised: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
This study investigated the peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) response to a dose of γ-rays in patients treated with radioiodine (I-131) for hyperthyroidism vs. healthy controls, to gain information about the individual lymphocytes’ radio-sensitivity. Blood samples were taken from 18 patients and 10 healthy donors. Phosphorylated histone variant H2AX (γ-H2AX) and micronuclei (MN) induction were used to determine the change in PBL radio-sensitivity and the correlations between the two types of damage. The two assays showed large inter-individual variability in PBL background damage and in radio-sensitivity (patients vs. healthy donors). In particular, they showed an increased radio-sensitivity in 36% and 33% of patients, decrease in 36% and 44%, respectively. There was a scarce correlation between the two assays and no dependence on age or gender. A significant association was found between high radio-sensitivity conditions and induced hypothyroidism. PBL radio-sensitivity in the patient group was not significantly affected by treatment with I-131, whereas there were significant changes inter-individually. The association found between clinical response and PBL radio-sensitivity suggests that the latter could be used in view of the development of personalized treatments.
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Abdel-Aziz N, Elkady AA, Elgazzar EM. Effect of Low-Dose Gamma Radiation and Lipoic Acid on High- Radiation-Dose Induced Rat Brain Injuries. Dose Response 2021; 19:15593258211044845. [PMID: 34759786 PMCID: PMC8573698 DOI: 10.1177/15593258211044845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Aim This work aims to investigate the possible radio-adaptive mechanisms induced by low-dose (LD) whole-body γ-irradiation alone or combined with alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) administration in modulating high-dose (HD) head irradiation–induced brain injury in rats. Materials and Methods Rats were irradiated with LD (.25 Gy) 24 hours prior HD (20 Gy), and subjected to ALA (100 mg/kg/day) 5 minutes after HD and continued for 10 days. At the end of the experiment, animals were sacrificed and brain samples were dissected for biochemical and histopathological examinations. Results HD irradiation-induced brain injury as manifested by elevation of oxidative stress, DNA damage, apoptotic, and inflammatory markers in brain tissue. Histological examination of brain sections showed marked alterations. However, LD alone or combined with ALA ameliorated the changes induced by HD. Conclusion Under the present experimental conditions, LD whole-body irradiation exhibited neuroprotective activity against detrimental effects of a subsequent HD head irradiation. This effect might be due to the adaptive response induced by LD that activated the anti-oxidative, anti-apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory mechanisms in the affected animals making them able to cope with the subsequent high-dose exposure. However, the combined LD exposure and ALA supplementation produced a further modulating effect in the HD-irradiated rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nahed Abdel-Aziz
- Radiation Biology Research Department, National Centre for Radiation Research and Technology (NCRRT), Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA), Cairo, Egypt
| | - Ahmed A Elkady
- Ahmed A. Elkady: Health Radiation Research Department, National Centre for Radiation Research and Technology (NCRRT), Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA), Cairo, Egypt
| | - Eman M Elgazzar
- Ahmed A. Elkady: Health Radiation Research Department, National Centre for Radiation Research and Technology (NCRRT), Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA), Cairo, Egypt
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Feiveson A, George K, Shavers M, Moreno-Villanueva M, Zhang Y, Babiak-Vazquez A, Crucian B, Semones E, Wu H. Predicting chromosome damage in astronauts participating in international space station missions. Sci Rep 2021; 11:5293. [PMID: 33674665 PMCID: PMC7935859 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-84242-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2020] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Space radiation consists of energetic protons and other heavier ions. During the International Space Station program, chromosome aberrations in lymphocytes of astronauts have been analyzed to estimate received biological doses of space radiation. More specifically, pre-flight blood samples were exposed ex vivo to varying doses of gamma rays, while post-flight blood samples were collected shortly and several months after landing. Here, in a study of 43 crew-missions, we investigated whether individual radiosensitivity, as determined by the ex vivo dose-response of the pre-flight chromosome aberration rate (CAR), contributes to the prediction of the post-flight CAR incurred from the radiation exposure during missions. Random-effects Poisson regression was used to estimate subject-specific radiosensitivities from the preflight dose-response data, which were in turn used to predict post-flight CAR and subject-specific relative biological effectiveness (RBEs) between space radiation and gamma radiation. Covariates age, gender were also considered. Results indicate that there is predictive value in background CAR as well as radiosensitivity determined preflight for explaining individual differences in post-flight CAR over and above that which could be explained by BFO dose alone. The in vivo RBE for space radiation was estimated to be approximately 3 relative to the ex vivo dose response to gamma irradiation. In addition, pre-flight radiosensitivity tended to be higher for individuals having a higher background CAR, suggesting that individuals with greater radiosensitivity can be more sensitive to other environmental stressors encountered in daily life. We also noted that both background CAR and radiosensitivity tend to increase with age, although both are highly variable. Finally, we observed no significant difference between the observed CAR shortly after mission and at > 6 months post-mission.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Maria Moreno-Villanueva
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, 77058, USA.,Human Performance Research Centre, Department of Sport Science, University of Konstanz, Box 30, 78457, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Ye Zhang
- Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA
| | | | | | | | - Honglu Wu
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, 77058, USA.
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Tharmalingam S, Sreetharan S, Brooks AL, Boreham DR. Re-evaluation of the linear no-threshold (LNT) model using new paradigms and modern molecular studies. Chem Biol Interact 2019; 301:54-67. [PMID: 30763548 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2018.11.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2018] [Revised: 11/13/2018] [Accepted: 11/22/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The linear no-threshold (LNT) model is currently used to estimate low dose radiation (LDR) induced health risks. This model lacks safety thresholds and postulates that health risks caused by ionizing radiation is directly proportional to dose. Therefore even the smallest radiation dose has the potential to cause an increase in cancer risk. Advances in LDR biology and cell molecular techniques demonstrate that the LNT model does not appropriately reflect the biology or the health effects at the low dose range. The main pitfall of the LNT model is due to the extrapolation of mutation and DNA damage studies that were conducted at high radiation doses delivered at a high dose-rate. These studies formed the basis of several outdated paradigms that are either incorrect or do not hold for LDR doses. Thus, the goal of this review is to summarize the modern cellular and molecular literature in LDR biology and provide new paradigms that better represent the biological effects in the low dose range. We demonstrate that LDR activates a variety of cellular defense mechanisms including DNA repair systems, programmed cell death (apoptosis), cell cycle arrest, senescence, adaptive memory, bystander effects, epigenetics, immune stimulation, and tumor suppression. The evidence presented in this review reveals that there are minimal health risks (cancer) with LDR exposure, and that a dose higher than some threshold value is necessary to achieve the harmful effects classically observed with high doses of radiation. Knowledge gained from this review can help the radiation protection community in making informed decisions regarding radiation policy and limits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sujeenthar Tharmalingam
- Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Rd, Sudbury, ON, P3E 2C6, Canada.
| | - Shayenthiran Sreetharan
- Department of Medical Physics and Applied Radiation Sciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street W, Hamilton ON, L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Antone L Brooks
- Environmental Science, Washington State University, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Douglas R Boreham
- Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Laurentian University, 935 Ramsey Lake Rd, Sudbury, ON, P3E 2C6, Canada; Bruce Power, Tiverton, ON(3), UK.
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