Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2026
11:24
Measuring DNA Damage and Repair in Mouse Splenocytes After Chronic In Vivo Exposure to Very Low Doses of Beta- and Gamma-Radiation
Published on: July 3, 2015
Gene expression profiles in radiation workers occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation
Ana Lucia Fachin1, Stephano Spano Mello, Paula Sandrin-Garcia
1Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto-USP, Av Bandeirantes 3900, 14049-900 Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil.
Journal of Radiation Research
|February 17, 2009
Summary
Chronic low-dose ionizing radiation (IR) exposure alters gene expression in human lymphocytes. These changes in DNA repair and cell cycle genes may serve as biomarkers for monitoring radiation exposure and understanding long-term health risks.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Molecular Biology
- Radiation Biology
Background:
- Ionizing radiation (IR) poses health risks, including cancer initiation, even at low doses.
- Genotoxic agents like IR activate cellular protection pathways.
- Understanding gene expression changes from IR exposure is crucial for risk assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate gene expression profiles in lymphocytes from radiation-exposed workers.
- To identify potential biomarkers for chronic low-level IR exposure.
- To assess the impact of IR on cellular processes related to genomic stability.
Main Methods:
- Utilized cDNA microarray technique to analyze gene expression.
- Monitored lymphocytes from radiation workers with documented absorbed doses (0.696–39.088 mSv).
- Performed statistical analysis to identify significant transcriptional changes.
Main Results:
- Identified 78 genes with statistically significant transcriptional changes (21 up-regulated, 57 down-regulated).
- Observed alterations in genes involved in the ubiquitin cycle, DNA repair, cell cycle regulation, and stress response.
- Specific genes identified include UHRF2, PIAS1, LIG3, XPA, ERCC5, RAD52, DCLRE1C, RHOA, CABLES2, TGFB2, IL16, GSTP1, PPP2R5A, and DUSP22.
Conclusions:
- Altered gene expression patterns in radiation workers can serve as biomarkers for monitoring chronic low-level exposure.
- Findings highlight the need to define effective radiation doses considering immediate genetic damage and long-term genomic instability.
- Gene expression analysis provides insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying radiation-induced health effects.
Related Concept Videos
02:59Biological Effects of Radiation
All radioactive nuclides emit high-energy particles or electromagnetic waves. When this radiation encounters living cells, it can cause heating, break chemical bonds, or ionize molecules. The most serious biological damage results when these radioactive emissions fragment or ionize molecules. For example, α and β particles emitted from nuclear decay reactions possess much higher energies than ordinary chemical bond energies. When these particles strike and penetrate matter, they produce ions...
01:38Nucleotide Excision Repair
DNA Distortion and Damage
Cells are regularly exposed to mutagens—factors in the environment that can damage DNA and generate mutations. UV radiation is one of the most common mutagens and is estimated to introduce a significant number of changes in DNA. These include bends or kinks in the structure, which can block DNA replication or transcription. If these errors are not fixed, the damage can cause mutations, which in turn can result in cancer or disease depending on which sequences are...
Cells are regularly exposed to mutagens—factors in the environment that can damage DNA and generate mutations. UV radiation is one of the most common mutagens and is estimated to introduce a significant number of changes in DNA. These include bends or kinks in the structure, which can block DNA replication or transcription. If these errors are not fixed, the damage can cause mutations, which in turn can result in cancer or disease depending on which sequences are...
02:11Reporter Genes
Reporter genes are a type of protein-coding gene that are often tagged to a gene of interest. Once inside a target cell, reporter genes usually produce visually identifiable characteristics like fluorescence and luminescence when expressed along with the gene of interest. Thus, reporter genes “report” the presence or absence of genes of interest in an organism, determine the gene expression pattern, or track the physical location of a DNA segment or protein in the cell.
Commonly used reporter...
Commonly used reporter...
01:17Radiation: Applications
The average temperature of Earth is the subject of much current discussion. Earth is in radiative contact with both the Sun and dark space; it receives almost all its energy from the radiation of the Sun and reflects some of it into outer space. Dark space is very cold, about 3 K, so Earth radiates energy into it. For instance, heat transfer occurs from soil and grasses, the rate of which can be so rapid that frost can occur on clear summer evenings, even in warm latitudes.
The average...
The average...