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Diagnosis of partial body radiation exposure in mice using peripheral blood gene expression profiles.

ABSTRACT: In the event of a terrorist-mediated attack in the United States using radiological or improvised nuclear weapons, it is expected that hundreds of thousands of people could be exposed to life-threatening levels of ionizing radiation. We have recently shown that genome-wide expression analysis of the peripheral blood (PB) can generate gene expression profiles that can predict radiation exposure and distinguish the dose level of exposure following total body irradiation (TBI). However, in the event a radiation-mass casualty scenario, many victims will have heterogeneous exposure due to partial shielding and it is unknown whether PB gene expression profiles would be useful in predicting the status of partially irradiated individuals. Here, we identified gene expression profiles in the PB that were characteristic of anterior hemibody-, posterior hemibody- and single limb-irradiation at 0.5 Gy, 2 Gy and 10 Gy in C57Bl6 mice. These PB signatures predicted the radiation status of partially irradiated mice with a high level of accuracy (range 79-100%) compared to non-irradiated mice. Interestingly, PB signatures of partial body irradiation were poorly predictive of radiation status by site of injury (range 16-43%), suggesting that the PB molecular response to partial body irradiation was anatomic site specific. Importantly, PB gene signatures generated from TBI-treated mice failed completely to predict the radiation status of partially irradiated animals or non-irradiated controls. These data demonstrate that partial body irradiation, even to a single limb, generates a characteristic PB signature of radiation injury and thus may necessitate the use of multiple signatures, both partial body and total body, to accurately assess the status of an individual exposed to radiation.

SUBMITTER: Meadows SK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2902517 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Diagnosis of partial body radiation exposure in mice using peripheral blood gene expression profiles.

Meadows Sarah K SK Dressman Holly K HK Daher Pamela P Himburg Heather H Russell J Lauren JL Doan Phuong P Chao Nelson J NJ Lucas Joseph J Nevins Joseph R JR Chute John P JP

PloS one 20100712 7

In the event of a terrorist-mediated attack in the United States using radiological or improvised nuclear weapons, it is expected that hundreds of thousands of people could be exposed to life-threatening levels of ionizing radiation. We have recently shown that genome-wide expression analysis of the peripheral blood (PB) can generate gene expression profiles that can predict radiation exposure and distinguish the dose level of exposure following total body irradiation (TBI). However, in the even ...[more]

PMID: 20634956

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Project description:There is a need to identify new biomarkers of radiation exposure for not only systemic total-body irradiation (TBI) but also to characterize partial-body irradiation and organ specific radiation injury. In the current study, we sought to develop novel biodosimetry models of radiation exposure using TBI and organ specific partial-body irradiation to only the brain, lung or gut using a multivariate proteomics approach. Subset panels of significantly altered proteins were selected to build predictive models of radiation exposure in a variety of sample cohort configurations relevant to practical field application of biodosimetry diagnostics during future radiological or nuclear event scenarios. Female C57BL/6 mice, 8-15 weeks old, received a single total-body or partial-body dose of 2 or 8 Gy TBI or 2 or 8 Gy to only the lung or gut, or 2, 8 or 16 Gy to only the brain using a Pantak X-ray source. Plasma was collected by cardiac puncture at days 1, 3 and 7 postirradiation for total-body exposures and only the lung and brain exposures, and at days 3, 7 and 14 postirradiation for gut exposures. Plasma was then screened using the aptamer-based SOMAscan proteomic assay technology, for changes in expression of 1,310 protein analytes. A subset panel of protein biomarkers which demonstrated significant changes (P < 0.01) in expression after irradiation were used to build predictive models of radiation exposure using different sample cohorts. Model 1 compared controls vs. all pooled irradiated samples, which included TBI and all organ specific partial irradiation. Model 2 compared controls vs. TBI vs. partial irradiation (with all organ specific partial exposure pooled within the partial-irradiated group), and model 3 compared controls vs. each individual organ specific partial-body exposure separately (brain, gut and lung). Detectable values were obtained for all 1,310 proteins included in the SOMAscan assay for all samples. Each model algorithm built using a unique sample cohort was validated with a training set of samples and tested with a separate new sample series. Overall predictive accuracies of 89%, 78% and 55% resulted for models 1-3, respectively, representing novel predictive panels of radiation responsive proteomic biomarkers. Though relatively high overall predictive accuracies were achieved for models 1 and 2, all three models showed limited accuracy at differentiating between the controls and partial-irradiated body samples. In our study we were able to identify novel panels of radiation responsive proteins useful for predicting radiation exposure and to create predictive models of partial-body exposure including organ specific radiation exposures. This proof-of-concept study also illustrates the inherent physiological limitations of distinguishing between small-body exposures and the unirradiated using proteomic biomarkers of radiation exposure. As use of biodosimetry diagnostics in future mass casualty settings will be complicated by the heterogeneity of partial-body exposure received in the field, further work remains in adapting these diagnostic tools for practical use.

Project description:In the event of a radiological or nuclear attack, advanced clinical countermeasures are needed for screening and medical management of the exposed population. In such a scenario, minimally invasive biomarkers that can accurately quantify radiation exposure would be useful for triage management by first responders. In this murine study, we evaluated the efficacy of a novel combination of radiation responsive proteins, Flt3 ligand (FL), serum amyloid A (SAA), matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), fibrinogen beta (FGB) and pentraxin 3 (PTX3) to predict the received dose after whole- or partial-body irradiation. Ten-week-old female C57BL6 mice received a single whole-body or partial-body dose of 18 Gy from a Pantak X-ray source at a dose rate of 2.28 Gy/min. Plasma was collected by cardiac puncture at 24, 48, 72 h and 1 week postirradiation. Plasma protein levels were determined via commercially available ELISA assay. A multivariate discriminant analysis was utilized to generate best-fit dose prediction models for whole-body exposures using the selected biomarker panel and its potential application to partial-body exposures was examined. The combination of values from FL, SAA, MMP9, FGB and PTX3 between 24 h and 1 week postirradiation yielded novel dose-response relationships. For day 1 postirradiation, the best-fit model yielded a predictive accuracy of 81% utilizing FL alone. The use of additional proteins did not enhance the model accuracy whereas, at day 2 postirradiation, the addition of PTX3 and FGB to FL increased the accuracy to 100%. At day 3 the use of FL and PTX3 yielded a predictive accuracy of 93% and at day 7 use of FL and SAA had an accuracy of 90%. Dose prediction of partial-body exposures based on the TBI model had a higher predictive accuracy when the percentage of the body exposed to radiation increased. Our findings indicate that this novel combination of radiation responsive biomarker proteins are an efficient method for predicting radiation exposure and are more accurate when used in concert compared to using any single biomarker protein alone.

Dataset Information

Diagnosis of partial body radiation exposure in mice using peripheral blood gene expression profiles.

Publications

Diagnosis of partial body radiation exposure in mice using peripheral blood gene expression profiles.

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