In vivo gene expression changes in human blood cells in response to radiation therapy.. Homo sapiens

Our in vivo study measures miRNA and gene expression changes in human blood cells in response to ionizing radiation in order to develop miRNA signatures that can be used as biomarkers for radiation exposure. Blood was collected from 8 radiotherapy patients immediately prior to and at 4 h after total body irradiation with 1.25 Gy X-rays. Both miRNA and gene expression changes were measured by means of quantitative PCR and microarray hybridization, respectively. Patients were in complete remission at the time of blood collection. Out of 223 differentially expressed genes, 37 were both downregulated and predicted targets of the upregulated miRNAs. Both miRNA and gene control of biological processes such as hemopoiesis and the immune response is increased after irradiation, whereas metabolic processes are underrepresented among all differentially expressed genes and the genes controlled by miRNAs. Overall design: Sixteen human whole-blood samples were included in this study. Eight samples were collected shortly before total body irradiation. The other 8 samples were collected at 4 h after total body irradiation with 1.25 Gy X-rays.

本体内研究旨在探究人类血细胞响应电离辐射后的微小RNA（miRNA）与基因表达变化，以开发可作为辐射暴露生物标志物的miRNA特征谱。研究共纳入8名放疗患者，分别在其接受1.25戈瑞（Gy）X射线全身照射前即刻，以及照射后4小时采集血液样本。分别采用定量聚合酶链反应（quantitative PCR）与基因芯片杂交技术，检测miRNA与基因的表达变化。血液采集时，所有患者均处于完全缓解状态。在223个差异表达基因中，有37个基因既呈下调表达，同时又是上调miRNA的预测靶基因。照射后，造血与免疫应答等生物学过程的基因及miRNA调控活性均有所增强；而代谢过程在全部差异表达基因及miRNA调控的基因中均未被充分富集。研究整体设计：本研究共纳入16份人类全血样本，其中8份采集于全身照射前短时间内，剩余8份采集于1.25戈瑞X射线全身照射后4小时。