Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 7, 2026

Dual Immunofluorescence of γH2AX and 53BP1 in Human Peripheral Lymphocytes
Published on: July 14, 2023
Ferulic acid protects lymphocytes from radiation-predisposed oxidative stress through extracellular regulated kinase
Zeng-Chun Ma1, Qian Hong, Yu-Guang Wang
1Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine, Beijing, PR China.
Purpose:
The objective of this study was to investigate the radioprotective effect of ferulic acid (FA) on irradiated lymphocytes and discover the possible mechanisms of protection.
Materials And Methods:
Lymphocytes were pretreated for 12 h with FA (0.001-0.1 μM) and then exposed to 3 Gy radiation. Cell apoptosis, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), and signal pathway was analysed.
Results:
Irradiation increased cell death, DNA fragmentation and intracellular ROS. Pretreatment with FA significantly reversed this tendency and attenuated the irradiation-induced ROS generation. Furthermore, several anti-apoptotic characteristics of FA were determined, including the ability to diminish cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration, inhibit caspase-3 activation and cytochrome c translocation, upregulate B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) and downregulate Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) in 3 Gy-irradiated lymphocytes. Signal pathway analysis showed FA decreased the activation of extracellular regulated kinase (ERK), which had been activated by radiation.
Conclusion:
The results suggest that FA had a radioprotective effect through the ERK pathway to inhibit apoptosis and oxidation, and it may be an effective candidate for treating radiation diseases associated with oxidative stress.
Related Concept Videos
Other Unique Bacteria
Nucleotide Excision Repair
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...
Mutations
Chromosomal Alterations Are Large-Scale Mutations
While point mutations are changes in a single nucleotide in...
