Effects of Radioactive ⁵⁶MnO₂ Particle Inhalation on Mouse Lungs: A Comparison between C57BL and BALB/c

The effects of residual radiation from atomic bombs have been considered to be minimal because of its low levels of external radioactivity. However, studies involving atomic bomb survivors exposed to only residual radiation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki have indicated possible adverse health effects. Thus, we investigated the biological effects of radioactive dust of manganese dioxide 56 (⁵⁶MnO₂), a major radioisotope formed in soil by neutron beams from a bomb. Previously, we investigated C57BL mice exposed to ⁵⁶MnO₂ and found pulmonary gene expression changes despite low radiation doses. In this study, we examined the effects in a radiation-sensitive strain of mice, BALB/c, and compared them with those in C57BL mice. The animals were exposed to ⁵⁶MnO₂ particles at two radioactivity levels and examined 3 and 65 days after exposure. The mRNA expression of pulmonary pathophysiology markers, including Aqp1, Aqp5, and Smad7, and radiation-sensitive genes, including Bax, Phlda3, and Faim3, was determined in the lungs. The radiation doses absorbed in the lungs ranged from 110 to 380 mGy; no significant difference was observed between the two strains. No exposure-related pathological changes were observed in the lungs of any group. However, the mRNA expression of Aqp1 was significantly elevated in C57BL mice but not in BALB/c mice 65 days after exposure, whereas no changes were observed in external γ-rays (2 Gy) in either strain. In contrast, Faim3, a radiation-dependently downregulated gene, was reduced by ⁵⁶MnO₂ exposure in BALB/c mice but not in C57BL mice. These data demonstrate that inhalation exposure to ⁵⁶MnO₂ affected the expression of pulmonary genes at doses <380 mGy, which is comparable to 2 Gy of external γ-irradiation, whereas the responses differed between the two mouse strains.