ABSTRACT: Ionizing radiation (IR) not only affects cells that are directly irradiated but also their non-irradiated neighbors, which show responses known as bystander effects. While bystander and direct responses have several common end points including apoptosis and micronucleation, chromatin remodeling and altered levels or activities of regulatory proteins, they can be quantitatively and qualitatively different. The majority of studies of radiation bystander effects have utilized 2-dimensional in vitro systems, but we have recently demonstrated such effects in EPI-200 (Mat-Tek, Ashland, MA), a 3-dimensional tissue model that precisely imitates the structure and function of human epidermis. Global gene expression is a powerful tool for uncovering both fundamental signaling processes and the mechanistic basis of cellular or physiological effects. By exposing only a thin strip across the center of the EPI-200 tissue, we have been able to measure global gene expression responses in directly irradiated and bystander cells located at 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1mm from the irradiation line. The data were analyzed using BRB-Array Tools (NIH), and further network analysis was performed with IPA (Ingenuity). Significantly responding genes were identified at all distances and included sets common to both direct and bystander responses. For instance, all sets demonstrated upregulation of a major component of the drug metabolism pathway, CYP1B1, and downregulation of MMP1, an enzyme involved in degradation of extracellular matrix. In contrast, PTGS2, a gene strongly implicated in the bystander response was upregulated in directly irradiated tissues, but actually downregulated in bystander cells. This effect may be time dependent, but may also suggest activation of bystander signaling mechanisms different from those observed in 2-dimensional cell cultures. According to network analysis of our results, the genes responding in bystander tissue fell into 5 major categories: cell death, cell communication, cell differentiation, stress response, and response to wounding, suggesting active intracellular communication in bystander tissue. Radiation induced gene expression in 3-dimensional tissue model, Epi-200, was measured at 4 hours after exposure to 0.5 Gy of alpha-particles. Three independent experiments were performed for the samples collected at different distances from the irradiation line (250-500, 500-750 and 750-1000 micrometers) using three tissue fragments per a data point.
