High-Dose Ionizing Radiation Impairs Healthy Dendrite Growth in C. elegans

The nervous system is vulnerable to radiation damage, and further optimization is required to increase the efficacy of radiation therapy while reducing harm to neurons. Given recent developments in heavy ion therapy, experimental models would be valuable to improve these therapies. We used the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) to evaluate the effects of high-dose radiation on neuron development.

In this study, we used confocal microscopy to assess dendritic growth of the PVD nociceptor after high-dose gamma-irradiation from a Cs-137 source.

Irradiation during an early larval stage (L2) delayed overall development but also independently impaired dendrite outgrowth in the PVD nociceptive neuron. Irradiation at L4 larval stage did not result in significant alterations in dendrite morphology.

The nematode C. elegans can serve as a high-throughput model to study the effects of high-dose radiation on dendrite growth. We propose that C. elegans can be useful for studies of experimental radiation therapy modalities and dose rates for translational research.