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Updated: May 17, 2026
Cell Cycle-specific Measurement of γH2AX and Apoptosis After Genotoxic Stress by Flow Cytometry
Published on: September 1, 2019
Differential gene expression in human fibroblasts after alpha-particle emitter (211)At compared with (60)Co
Anna Danielsson1, Kristina Claesson, Toshima Z Parris
1Department of Oncology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. anna.danielsson@oncology.gu.se
Purpose:
The aim of this study was to identify gene expression profiles distinguishing alpha-particle (211)At and (60)Co irradiation.
Materials And Methods:
Gene expression microarray profiling was performed using total RNA from confluent human fibroblasts 5 hours after exposure to (211)At labeled trastuzumab monoclonal antibody (0.25, 0.5, and 1 Gy) and (60)Co (1, 2, and 3 Gy).
Results:
We report gene expression profiles that distinguish the effect different radiation qualities and absorbed doses have on cellular functions in human fibroblasts. In addition, we identified commonly expressed transcripts between (211)At and (60)Co irradiation. A greater number of transcripts were modulated by (211)At than (60)Co irradiation. In addition, down-regulation was more prevalent than up-regulation following (211)At irradiation. Several biological processes were enriched for both irradiation qualities such as transcription, cell cycle regulation, and cell cycle arrest, whereas mitosis, spindle assembly checkpoint, and apoptotic chromosome condensation were uniquely enriched for alpha particle irradiation.
Conclusions:
LET-dependent transcriptional modulations were observed in human fibroblasts 5 hours after irradiation exposure. These findings suggest that in comparison with (60)Co, (211)At has the clearest influence on both tumor protein p53-activated and repressed genes, which impose a greater overall burden to the cell following alpha particle irradiation.
