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X‐ray, proton and iron ion irradiation all increase adhesiveness of aortic endothelium and may accelerate development of atherosclerosis.
Author(s) -
Kucik Dennis F,
Khaled Saman,
Gupta Kiran,
Wu Xing,
Yu Tao,
Chang Polly Y
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.24.1_supplement.1028.11
Subject(s) - endothelium , irradiation , cosmic ray , adhesion , ionizing radiation , radiation , oxidative stress , chemistry , biophysics , proton , immunology , medicine , biology , biochemistry , physics , optics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , astrophysics , nuclear physics
Radiation from a variety of sources is associated with increased risk of atherosclerosis. The molecular mechanism for this is not known. With the hypothesis that radiation's pro‐atherogenic effect is due, at least in part, to a direct, pro‐adhesive effect on vascular endothelium, our objective was to determine the adhesive response of cultured primary human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs) to both X‐rays and the high energy radiation likely to be encountered in prolonged space flight. Vascular EC adhesiveness was assayed using a portable flow‐chamber adhesion assay for X‐rays at UAB and for components of cosmic radiation (iron ions and protons) at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Adhesiveness was scored as the number of un‐irradiated monocytic cells that adhered to HAECs per minute under physiological shear stress. We found that radiation increased HAEC adhesiveness, and that the effect depended on dose, time, and type of radiation. Changes in expression of HAEC adhesion molecules, however, were small and may not account for the pro‐adhesive effect. We conclude that both X‐rays and cosmic radiation increase HAEC adhesiveness, with the potential to increase risk for atherosclerosis. Current work is aimed at identifying molecular mechanisms. Results will be compared to pro‐atherogenic effects of all three types of radiation in a mouse model. This work was supported by a grant from NSBRI through NASA NCC 9–58.