Comparison of two methods of therapy level calibration at 60Co gamma beams

Integrative proteomic and microRNA analysis of primary human coronary artery endothelial cells exposed to low-dose gamma radiation

High doses of ionising radiation significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), the vascular endothelium representing one of the main targets. Whether radiation doses lower than 500 mGy induce cardiovascular damage is controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate radiation-induced expression changes on protein and microRNA (miRNA) level in primary human coronary artery endothelial cells after a single 200 mGy radiation dose (Co-60). Using a multiplex gel-based proteomics technology (2D-DIGE), we identified 28 deregulated proteins showing more than ±1.5-fold expression change in comparison with non-exposed cells. A great majority of the proteins showed up-regulation. Bioinformatics analysis indicated "cellular assembly and organisation, cellular function and maintenance and molecular transport" as the most significant radiation-responsive network. Caspase-3, a central regulator of this network, was confirmed to be up-regulated using immunoblotting. We also analysed radiation-induced alterations in the level of six miRNAs known to play a role either in CVD or in radiation response. The expression of miR-21 and miR-146b showed significant radiation-induced deregulation. Using miRNA target prediction, three proteins found differentially expressed in this study were identified as putative candidates for miR-21 regulation. A negative correlation was observed between miR-21 levels and the predicted target proteins, desmoglein 1, phosphoglucomutase and target of Myb protein. This study shows for the first time that a low-dose exposure has a significant impact on miRNA expression that is directly related to protein expression alterations. The data presented here may facilitate the discovery of low-dose biomarkers of radiation-induced cardiovascular damage.

Low-dose irradiation causes rapid alterations to the proteome of the human endothelial cell line EA.hy926

High doses of ionising radiation damage the heart by an as yet unknown mechanism. A concern for radiological protection is the recent epidemiological data indicating that doses as low as 100-500 mGy may induce cardiac damage. The aim of this study was to identify potential molecular targets and/or mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of low-dose radiation-induced cardiovascular disease. The vascular endothelium plays a pivotal role in the regulation of cardiac function and is therefore a potential target tissue. We report here that low-dose radiation induced rapid and time-dependent changes in the cytoplasmic proteome of the human endothelial cell line EA.hy926. The proteomes were investigated at 4 and 24 h after irradiation at two different dose rates (Co-60 gamma ray total dose 200 mGy; 20 mGy/min and 190 mGy/min) using 2D-DIGE technology. Differentially expressed proteins were identified, after in-gel trypsin digestion, by MALDI-TOF/TOF tandem mass spectrometry, and peptide mass fingerprint analyses. We identified 15 significantly differentially expressed proteins, of which 10 were up-regulated and 5 down-regulated, with more than ±1.5-fold difference compared with unexposed cells. Pathways influenced by the low-dose exposures included the Ran and RhoA pathways, fatty acid metabolism and stress response.

Comparação entre fatores de calibração em termos de dose absorvida no ar para uma câmara de ionização de placas paralelas

OBJETIVO: O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar uma comparação entre os fatores de calibração em termos de dose absorvida no ar determinados em feixes gama (60Co) e de elétrons. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Foram utilizados um irradiador de 60Co e um acelerador linear Varian, modelo Clinac 2100C, com feixes de fótons e de elétrons. Foram testadas uma câmara de ionização cilíndrica e três de placas paralelas. RESULTADOS: Os sistemas de medidas foram submetidos aos testes preliminares (estabilidade de resposta e corrente de fuga), com resultados muito bons. Os fatores de calibração em termos de dose absorvida no ar foram determinados utilizando-se quatro sistemas de medidas e dois tipos de objetos simuladores, com a obtenção de resultados dentro das recomendações internacionais. CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados mostraram que os fatores de calibração em termos de dose absorvida no ar obtidos para câmaras de ionização de placas paralelas, determinados em feixes de 60Co, são no máximo 1,2% mais altos que os valores obtidos em feixes de elétrons de altas energias.

A comparison between calculated and experimental kQ photon beam quality correction factors

To validate the calculated values of kQ for high-energy photon beams given in the International Code of Practice for radiotherapy dosimetry based on water-absorbed-dose standards, a comparison with experimental values derived in standards laboratories and in clinical beams has been made. The study includes a compilation of experimental values for ionization chambers of the type NE2561/2611, NE2571, PTW30001 and PR06. The energy dependence of the G(Fe3+) ratio of high-energy x-rays to 60Co gamma-rays by Klassen et al is taken into account for all the Fricke-derived values. For three of the chamber types analysed, the comparison shows that the calculated values are a very good estimate of the average values of kQ in the entire range of photon beam qualities available for clinical use. For the NE2571 chamber type a difference which increases with energy between calculated and experimental kQ factors has been observed; however, the largest difference with a fit describing the entire set of experimental data is always smaller than 0.4%. It is concluded that if the recommendation of the Code of Practice for an individual calibration of the user's chamber at a range of photon beam qualities is not available, the use of calculated kQ factors will yield absorbed dose to water determinations accurate within the uncertainty limits of the majority of experimental data available. The good agreement between calculated and measured values, obtained for practically all the experimental data using TPR(20,10) as photon beam quality specifier, is not satisfied in some cases for two high-energy soft beams used at the Canadian NRC. There appears to be no justification for a change to a different photon beam quality specifier solely on the grounds that such a limited set of data is not described by the same distributions as the rest of the experimental data.

Absorbed dose beam quality correction factors kappaQ for the NE2571 chamber in a 5 MV and a 10 MV photon beam

Dose to water (Dw) determination in clinical high-energy photon beams with ionization chambers calibrated in terms of absorbed dose to water has been proposed as an alternative to ionization chamber dosimetry based on air kerma calibrations. Dw in the clinical beam is derived using a kappaQ factor that scales the absorbed dose calibration factor in the reference beam to the absorbed dose calibration factor in the user beam. In the present study kappaQ values were determined for the NE2571 chamber in a 5 MV and a 10 MV high-energy photon beam generated at the 15 MeV high-intensity electron linac of the University of Gent. A set of three NE2571 chambers was calibrated relative to the Gent sealed water calorimeter both in 60Co and in the linac beam at a depth of 5 cm and a source to detector distance of 100 cm. Two high-purity chemical water systems were used in the detection vessel of the calorimeter, H2-saturated and Ar-saturated pure water, which are both supposed to give a zero heat defect. TPR20(10) and %dd(10) have been evaluated as beam quality specifiers. Simulations using the BEAM/DOSXYZ Monte Carlo system were performed to evaluate potential corrections on the measured beam qualities. The average kappaQ values measured for the three NE2571 chambers in the 5 MV and 10 MV photon beams are 0.995 +/- 0.005 and 0.979 +/- 0.005 respectively. For the three chambers used, the maximum deviation of individual kappaQ values is 0.2%. The measured beam quality specifiers %dd(10) and TPR20(10) are 67.0 and 0.705 for the 5 MV beam and 75.0 and 0.759 for the 10 MV beam. Although our beam design is very different from those used by other investigators for the measurement of kappaQ values, the agreement with their results is satisfactory showing a slightly better agreement when %dd(10) is used as the beam quality specifier.