Does occupational exposure to low-dose ionizing radiation affect bone marrow thrombopoiesis?
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Bone Marrow Transplantation Procedures in Mice to Study Clonal Hematopoiesis
Published on: May 26, 2021
Douaa Sayed1, Mostafa E Abd Elwanis, Saly Y Abd Elhameed
1Flow Cytometry Lab,, Department of Clinical pathology, South Egypt Cancer Institute, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt. douaa_sayed@hotmail.com.
Background:
The biological effects of high levels of radiation exposure are fairly well known, but the effects of low levels of radiation are more difficult to determine because the deterministic effects do not occur at these levels.
Methods:
In order to assess the risk of this exposure on BM thrombopoiesis, we measured reticulated platelets (RP) by flow cytometry in 14 hospital workers (12 technicians and 2 nurses) exposed to low level ionizing radiation in Radiotherapy Department in South Egypt Cancer Institute.
Results:
There are significant difference in the percentage of RP in the peripheral circulation of the workers (p = .008) and no significant difference in the proportion of other blood elements in the peripheral circulation.
Conclusions:
We think that measuring RP by flow cytometry is a rapid, non-invasive method to asses an early affection of thrombopoiesis. This type of monitoring may be used as an indicator to detect early BM affection and to demand more controls in radiation protection.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Biological Effects of Radiation
Bone Marrow Sampling and Transplants
The transplant begins with high doses of chemotherapy and radiation treatment, which aim to destroy the...
Bone Disorders
Bone deposition is also affected by the levels of sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone that promote osteoblast activity and bone matrix synthesis. When the level of these hormones decreases due to aging, it causes a reduction in bone deposition. As a result, bone resorption by osteoclasts...
Factors Affecting Erythropoiesis
Several factors influence the erythrocyte production rate, with tissue oxygen level being among the most critical. Intense exercise or high altitudes can cause tissue hypoxia, which triggers the kidneys to release more erythropoietin (EPO) into the bloodstream.
EPO then...
Isotopes and Radioisotopes
An isotope containing more...
Regulation of Hematopoietic Stem Cells

