DNA damage and gene expression changes in patients exposed to low-dose X-radiation during neuro-interventional...

Interventional radiology-based imaging is the preferred choice for diagnosis and therapy of many complex diseases, despite possible adverse effects of the radiation exposures. We have measured induced DNA damage and changes in gene expression in relation to entrance surface dose (ESD) in peripheral blood samples of patients (n = 51) who underwent neuro-interventional radiological procedures. The ESD values, measured by thermoluminescence dosimetry, were 4.9-273 mGy (forehead), 14-398 mGy (eyes), 8-433.3 mGy (shoulders), and 4.7-242.5 mGy (thyroid). The in-built recorded Dose Area Product (DAP) values were 74.61-558.55 and 13.17-2825.12 Gy*cm² for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, respectively. The mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) on the phosphorylation of γ-H2AX and p53^ser-15 was higher in samples obtained post-exposure vs. pre-exposure. However, the increase was statistically significant only for p53^ser-15 (P < 0.01). Consistent with γ-H2AX, CDKN1A, FDXR, BAX, DDB2, SESN1, BCL2, MDM2, TNFSF10B, and PCNA showed (non-significant) decreased expression while GADD45A, ATM, and TNFSF9 showed (non-significant) increased expression. Our results suggest that most of the patients had increased DNA damage and altered gene expression after receiving relatively low doses of ionising radiation. This implies that these procedures should be carried out at the lowest possible doses of radiation that do not compromise image quality.