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Updated: Aug 5, 2026
Use of a Linear Accelerator for Conducting In Vitro Radiobiology Experiments
Published on: May 26, 2019
Carbon ion beam is more effective to induce cell death in sphere-type A172 human glioblastoma cells compared with
Momoko Takahashi1, Hirokazu Hirakawa, Hirohiko Yajima
1Translational Research Center, Fukushima Medical University , Fukushima.
Purpose:
To obtain human glioblastoma cells A172 expressing stem cell-related protein and comparison of radiosensitivity in these cells with X-rays and carbon beam.
Methods:
Human monolayer-type A172 glioblastoma cells were maintained in normal medium with 10% bovine serum. In order to obtain sphere-type A172 cells the medium was replaced with serum-free medium supplemented with growth factors. Both types of A172 cells were irradiated with either X-rays or carbon ion beams and their radiosensitivity was evaluated.
Results:
Serum-free medium induced expression of stem cell-related proteins in A172 cells along with the neurosphere-like appearance. These sphere-type cells were found resistant to both X-rays and carbon ion beams. Phosphorylation of histone H2A family member X persisted for a longer period in the cells exposed to carbon ion beams than in those exposed to X-rays and it disappeared quicker in the sphere type than in the monolayer type. Relative radioresistance of the sphere type cells was smaller for carbon ion beams than for X-rays.
Conclusions:
We demonstrated that glioblastoma A172 cells with induced stem cell-related proteins turned resistant to irradiation. Accelerated heavy ion particles may have advantage over X-rays in overcoming the tumor resistance due to cell stemness.
