Nuclear and Radiological Emergencies: Biological Effects, Countermeasures and Biodosimetry

Atomic and radiological crises can be caused by accidents, military activities, terrorist assaults involving atomic installations, the explosion of nuclear devices, or the utilization of concealed radiation exposure devices. Direct damage is caused when radiation interacts directly with cellular components. Indirect effects are mainly caused by the generation of reactive oxygen species due to radiolysis of water molecules. Acute and persistent oxidative stress associates to radiation-induced biological damages. Biological impacts of atomic radiation exposure can be deterministic (in a period range a posteriori of the event and because of destructive tissue/organ harm) or stochastic (irregular, for example cell mutation related pathologies and heritable infections). Potential countermeasures according to a specific scenario require considering basic issues, e.g., the type of radiation, people directly affected and first responders, range of doses received and whether the exposure or contamination has affected the total body or is partial. This review focuses on available medical countermeasures (radioprotectors, radiomitigators, radionuclide scavengers), biodosimetry (biological and biophysical techniques that can be quantitatively correlated with the magnitude of the radiation dose received), and strategies to implement the response to an accidental radiation exposure. In the case of large-scale atomic or radiological events, the most ideal choice for triage, dose assessment and victim classification, is the utilization of global biodosimetry networks, in combination with the automation of strategies based on modular platforms.

Quantification of radiation-induced DNA double strand break repair foci to evaluate and predict biological responses to ionizing radiation

Radiation-induced foci (RIF) are nuclear puncta visualized by immunostaining of proteins that regulate DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair after exposure to ionizing radiation. RIF are a standard metric for measuring DSB formation and repair in clinical, environmental and space radiobiology. The time course and dose dependence of their formation has great potential to predict in vivo responses to ionizing radiation, predisposition to cancer and probability of adverse reactions to radiotherapy. However, increasing complexity of experimentally and therapeutically setups (charged particle, FLASH …) is associated with several confounding factors that must be taken into account when interpreting RIF values. In this review, we discuss the spatiotemporal characteristics of RIF development after irradiation, addressing the common confounding factors, including cell proliferation and foci merging. We also describe the relevant endpoints and mathematical models that enable accurate biological interpretation of RIF formation and resolution. Finally, we discuss the use of RIF as a biomarker for quantification and prediction of in vivo radiation responses, including important caveats relating to the choice of the biological endpoint and the detection method. This review intends to help scientific community design radiobiology experiments using RIF as a key metric and to provide suggestions for their biological interpretation.

Biodosimetry in interventional radiology: cutaneous-based immunoassay for anticipating risks of dermatitis

OBJECTIVES

Interventional radiology procedures expose individuals to ionizing radiation. However, existing dosimetry methods do not provide the dose effectively absorbed to the skin, and do not consider the patient's individual response to irradiation. To resolve this lack of dosimetry data, we developed a new external irradiation biodosimetry device, DosiKit, based on the dose-dependent relationship between irradiation dose and radiation-induced H2AX protein phosphorylation in hair follicles. This new biological method was tested in Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital to evaluate the assay performances in the medical field and to estimate DosiKit sensitivity threshold.

METHODS

DosiKit was tested over 95 patients treated with neuroradiological interventions. For each intervention, lithium fluoride thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD) were used to measure total dose received at each hair collection point (lateral and occipital skull areas), and conventional indirect dosimetry parameters were collected with a Dosimetry Archiving and Communication System (DACS).

RESULTS

Quantitative measurement of radiation-induced H2AX protein phosphorylation was performed on 174 hair samples before and after the radiation exposure and 105 samples showed a notable induction of gammaH2AX protein after the radiological procedure. According to a statistical analysis, the threshold sensitivity of the DosiKit immunoassay was estimated around 700 mGy.

CONCLUSIONS

With this study, we showed that DosiKit provides a useful way for mapping the actually absorbed doses, allowing to identify patients overexposed in interventional radiology procedures, and thus for anticipating risk of developing dermatitis.

KEY POINTS

• DosiKit is a new external irradiation biodosimetry device, based on the dose-dependent relationship between irradiation dose and radiation-induced H2AX protein phosphorylation in hair follicles. • DosiKit was tested over 95 patients treated with neuroradiological interventions. • The threshold sensitivity of the DosiKit immunoassay was estimated around 700 mGy and DosiKit provides a useful way for mapping the actually absorbed doses.

Potential application of γ-H2AX as a biodosimetry tool for radiation triage

Radiation triage and biological dosimetry are two initial steps in the medical management of exposed individuals following radiological accidents. Well established biodosimetry methods such as the dicentric (DC) assay, micronucleus (MN) assay, and fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) translocation assay (for residual damage) have been used for this purpose for several decades. Recent advances in scoring methodology and networking among established laboratories have increased triage capacity; however, these methods still have limitations in analysing large sample numbers, particularly because of the ∼ 48 h minimum culture time required prior to analysis. Hence, there is a need for simple, and high throughput markers to identify exposed individuals in case of radiological/nuclear emergencies. In recent years, a few markers were identified, one being phosphorylated histone 2AX (γ-H2AX), which measured a nuclear foci or nuclear staining intensity that was found to be suitable for triage. Measurement of γ-H2AX foci formed at and around the sites of DNA double-strand breaks is a rapid and sensitive biodosimetry method which does not require culturing and is thus promising for the analysis of a large number of samples. In this review, we have summarized the recent developments of γ-H2AX assay in radiation triage and biodosimetry, focusing chiefly on: i) the importance of baseline frequency and reported values among different laboratories, ii) the influence of known and unknown variables on dose estimation, iii) quality assurance such as inter-laboratory comparison between scorers and scoring methods, and iv) current limitations and potential for future development.