[Effects of Low and Sublethal Doses of γ-Radiation on Mesenchymal and Neural Stem Cells from Mouse Brain]

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) exist in the brain in addition to the neural stem cells (NSC). The aim of this work was to investigate the sensitivity of mouse brain MSC (MSC(BR)) to sublethal doses of γ-radiation in comparison with the sensitivity of bone marrow MSC (MSC(BM)) and NSC and to study the effects of γ-irradiation at low doses on these cells. Cells were exposed to γ-radiation (137Cs) at the doses of 10 to 200 mGy at a dose rate of 10 mGy/min; higher doses were achieved at the dose rates of 200 and 500 mGy/min (60Co). The survival of cells was assessed by counting living cells after staining with trypan blue in the Goryaev's chamber or using the MTT test for NSC growing as neurospheres. SP fraction was measured using flow cytometry after incubation with rhodamine-123. Exposure to the doses in the range of 10 to 500 mGy stimulated cell proliferation. The maximum decrease in the cells number was seen on the seventh day after irradiation and it was practically the same for the MSC(BR) and MSC(BM). NCS were more radiosensitive than MSC. Exposure to the doses of 100 to 500 mGy stimulated cells proliferation of all SCs except of MSC(BM). It was shown that the size of SP fraction of MSC(BR) was diminished after γ-irradiation at low doses. Thus, the stimulation of cell proliferation after γ-irradiation at low doses is accompanied by the redistribution of distinct cell subpopulations: the decrease in the SP fraction and the increase in the general population of cells were observed.