Protective effects of HemoHIM on immune and hematopoietic systems against γ-irradiation

We examined the effect of HemoHIM on the protective efficacy of hematopoietic stem cells and on the recovery of immune cells against sublethal doses of ionizing radiation. Two-month-old mice were exposed to γ-rays at a dose of 8, 6.5, or 5 Gy for a30-day survival study, endogenous spleen colony formation, or other experiments, respectively. HemoHIM was injected intraperitoneally before and after irradiation. Our results showed that HemoHIM significantly decreased the mortality of sublethally irradiated mice. The HemoHIM administration decreased the apoptosis of bone marrow cells in irradiated mice. On the other hand, HemoHIM increased the formation of endogenous spleen colony in irradiated mice. In irradiated mice, the recovery of total leukocytes in the peripheral blood and lymphocytes in the spleen were enhanced significantly by HemoHIM. Moreover, the function of B cells, T cells, and NK cells regenerated in irradiated mice were significantly improved by the administration of HemoHIM. HemoHIM showed an ideal radioprotector for protecting hematopoietic stem cells and for accelerating the recovery of immune cells. We propose HemoHIM as a beneficial supplement drug during radiotherapy to alleviate adverse radiation-induced effects for cancer patients.