1. |
- Akuwudike, Pamela, 1987-, et al.
(author)
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Short- and long-term effects of radiation exposure at low dose and low dose rate in normal human VH10 fibroblasts
- 2023
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In: Frontiers in Public Health. - 2296-2565. ; 11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: Experimental studies complement epidemiological data on the biological effects of low doses and dose rates of ionizing radiation and help in determining the dose and dose rate effectiveness factor.Methods: Human VH10 skin fibroblasts exposed to 25, 50, and 100 mGy of 137Cs gamma radiation at 1.6, 8, 12 mGy/h, and at a high dose rate of 23.4 Gy/h, were analyzed for radiation-induced short- and long-term effects. Two sample cohorts, i.e., discovery (n = 30) and validation (n = 12), were subjected to RNA sequencing. The pool of the results from those six experiments with shared conditions (1.6 mGy/h; 24 h), together with an earlier time point (0 h), constituted a third cohort (n = 12).Results: The 100 mGy-exposed cells at all abovementioned dose rates, harvested at 0/24 h and 21 days after exposure, showed no strong gene expression changes. DMXL2, involved in the regulation of the NOTCH signaling pathway, presented a consistent upregulation among both the discovery and validation cohorts, and was validated by qPCR. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that the NOTCH pathway was upregulated in the pooled cohort (p = 0.76, normalized enrichment score (NES) = 0.86). Apart from upregulated apical junction and downregulated DNA repair, few pathways were consistently changed across exposed cohorts. Concurringly, cell viability assays, performed 1, 3, and 6 days post irradiation, and colony forming assay, seeded just after exposure, did not reveal any statistically significant early effects on cell growth or survival patterns. Tendencies of increased viability (day 6) and reduced colony size (day 21) were observed at 12 mGy/h and 23.4 Gy/min. Furthermore, no long-term changes were observed in cell growth curves generated up to 70 days after exposure.Discussion: In conclusion, low doses of gamma radiation given at low dose rates had no strong cytotoxic effects on radioresistant VH10 cells.
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2. |
- Akuwudike, Pamela, et al.
(author)
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Short- and long-term effects of radiation exposure at low dose and low dose rate on normal human VH10 fibroblasts
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Experimental studies complement epidemiological data on the biological effects of low doses and dose rates of ionizing radiation and help in determining the dose and dose rate effectiveness factor. Here, human VH10 skin fibroblasts exposed to 25, 50 and 100 mGy of 137Cs gamma radiation at 1.6, 8, 12 mGy/h, and at a high dose rate of 23.4 Gy/h, were analyzed for radiation-induced short- and long-term effects. Two sample cohorts, i.e. discovery (n=30) and validation (n=12), were subjected to RNA sequencing. Results from the pool of those samples with shared conditions among six experiments constituted a third cohort (n=12). The 100 mGy-exposed cells at all the abovementioned dose rates, harvested at early and late time points after exposure, showed no strong gene expression changes. DMXL2, involved in the regulation of the NOTCH signalling pathway, presented a consistent upregulation among both the discovery and validation cohorts. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that the NOTCH pathway was upregulated in the pooled cohort (p=0.76, NES=0.86). Apart from upregulated apical junction and downregulated DNA repair, few pathways were consistently changed across exposed cohorts. In agreement, cell viability assays, performed 1-, 3-, and 6-days post-irradiation, and colony forming assay, seeded just after exposure, did not reveal any statistically significant early effects in cell growth or survival patterns. Tendencies of increased growth and reduced colony size were observed at 12 mGy/h and 23.4 Gy/min. Furthermore, no long-term changes were observed in cell growth curves generated up to 70 days after exposure. In conclusion, low doses of gamma radiation given at low dose rates had no strong cytotoxic effects on VH10 cells.
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3. |
- Bornelöv, Susanne, 1984-
(author)
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Rule-based Models of Transcriptional Regulation and Complex Diseases : Applications and Development
- 2014
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- As we gain increased understanding of genetic disorders and gene regulation more focus has turned towards complex interactions. Combinations of genes or gene and environmental factors have been suggested to explain the missing heritability behind complex diseases. Furthermore, gene activation and splicing seem to be governed by a complex machinery of histone modification (HM), transcription factor (TF), and DNA sequence signals. This thesis aimed to apply and develop multivariate machine learning methods for use on such biological problems. Monte Carlo feature selection was combined with rule-based classification to identify interactions between HMs and to study the interplay of factors with importance for asthma and allergy.Firstly, publicly available ChIP-seq data (Paper I) for 38 HMs was studied. We trained a classifier for predicting exon inclusion levels based on the HMs signals. We identified HMs important for splicing and illustrated that splicing could be predicted from the HM patterns. Next, we applied a similar methodology on data from two large birth cohorts describing asthma and allergy in children (Paper II). We identified genetic and environmental factors with importance for allergic diseases which confirmed earlier results and found candidate gene-gene and gene-environment interactions.In order to interpret and present the classifiers we developed Ciruvis, a web-based tool for network visualization of classification rules (Paper III). We applied Ciruvis on classifiers trained on both simulated and real data and compared our tool to another methodology for interaction detection using classification. Finally, we continued the earlier study on epigenetics by analyzing HM and TF signals in genes with or without evidence of bidirectional transcription (Paper IV). We identified several HMs and TFs with different signals between unidirectional and bidirectional genes. Among these, the CTCF TF was shown to have a well-positioned peak 60-80 bp upstream of the transcription start site in unidirectional genes.
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4. |
- Danielsson, Daniel, et al.
(author)
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Influence of genetic background and oxidative stress response on risk of mandibular osteoradionecrosis after radiotherapy of head and neck cancer
- 2016
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In: Head and Neck. - : Wiley. - 1043-3074 .- 1097-0347. ; 38:3, s. 387-393
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Osteoradionecrosis (ORN) of the mandible is a severe complication of head and neck radiotherapy (RT) treatment, where the impact of individual radiosensitivity has been a suggested explanation. Methods: A cohort of patients with stage II/III ORN was compared to matched controls. Blood was collected and irradiated in vitro to study the capacity to handle radiation-induced oxidative stress. Patients were also genotyped for 8 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes involved in the oxidative stress response. Results: A difference in 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dG) levels was found between the patient cohorts (p = 0.01). The SNP rs1695 in glutathione s-transferase p1 (GSTP1) was also found to be more frequent in the patients with ORN (p = .02). Multivariate analysis of the clinical and biological factors revealed concomitant brachytherapy plus the 2 biomarkers to be significant factors which influense risk of mandibular osteoradionecrosis after radiotherapy of head and neck cancer. Conclusion: The current study indicates that oxidative stress response contributes to individual radiosensitivity and healthy tissue damage caused by RT and may be predicted by biomarker analysis.
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5. |
- Danielsson, Daniel, et al.
(author)
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Reduced oxidative stress response as a risk factor for normal tissue damage after radiotherapy: a study on mandibular osteoradionecrosis
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- BackgroundThe use of radiotherapy (RT) to treat cancer involves exposure of normal tissues. Factors that promote the development of normal tissue damage are poorly understood. An increased individual sensitivity to ionizing radiation is a likely candidate, but general phenotypes for late adverse effects of RT are difficult to define. We have found osteoradionecrosis (ORN) in the mandible as a well-defined model phenotype for an in-depth study of clinical and biological risk factors for developing late adverse effects to RT.MethodsA cohort of patients with stage 2/3 ORN following RT for head and neck cancer (HCN) was studied and compared to a closely matched control group. Blood samples from the patients were collected and irradiated in vitro and the capacity to handle radiation-induced oxidative stress was investigated by measuring the level of 8-oxo-dG in serum 60 min post exposure. The patients were also genotyped for eight SNPs in genes involved in the oxidative stress response and previously studied in the context of individual radiosensitivity. Results from these endpoints were analyzed in conjunction with clinical data using multivariate analysis and an ORN risk model was constructed. FindingsA significant difference in 8-oxo-dG levels was found between the patient cohorts, indicating a heterogeneous response to oxidative stress induced by the in vitro γ-radiation. The SNP rs1695 in GSTP1 was found to be significantly more frequent in the ORN+ compared to ORN- group. Multivariate analysis of the clinical and biological factors revealed concomitant brachytherapy plus the two biomarkers to be the most significant. Interpretation: The current study indicates that patient-related factors are a major source of individual variation in normal tissue response to RT. Two of the studied genetic biomarkers are strong factors in the described risk model of ORN.
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6. |
- Deperas-Kaminska, Marta, et al.
(author)
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RADIATION-INDUCED CHANGES IN LEVELS OF SELECTED PROTEINS IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD SERUM OF BREAST CANCER PATIENTS AS A POTENTIAL TRIAGE BIODOSIMETER FOR LARGE-SCALE RADIOLOGICAL EMERGENCIES
- 2014
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In: Health Physics. - 0017-9078 .- 1538-5159. ; 107:6, s. 555-563
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The threat of a large scale radiological emergency, where thousands of people may require fast biological dosimetry for the purpose of triage, makes it necessary to search for new, high throughput biological dosimeters. The authors tested an assay based on the quantitative analysis of selected proteins in peripheral blood serum. They were particularly interested in testing proteins that are specific to irradiation of skin, as these can be used in cases of partial body exposure. Candidate proteins were identified in an earlier study with mice, where skin of the animals was exposed to different doses of radiation and global expression of serum proteins was analyzed. Eight proteins were found, the expression of which showed a consistent dose-response relationship. Human analogues of these proteins were identified, and their expression was measured in peripheral blood serum of 16 breast cancer patients undergoing external beam radiotherapy. The proteins were Apolipoprotein E; Apolipoprotein H; Complement protein 7; Prothrombinase; Pantothenate Kinase 4; Alpha-2-macroglobulin; Fetuin B and Alpha-1-Anti-Chymotrypsin. Measurements were carried out in blood samples collected prior to exposure (control), on the day after one fraction (2 Gy), on the day after five fractions (10 Gy), on the day after 10 fractions (20 Gy), and 1 mo after 23-25 fractions (total dose of 46-50 Gy). Multivariate analysis was carried out, and a multinomial logistic regression model was built. The results indicate that the combined analysis of Apolipoprotein E, Factor X, and Pantothenate Kinase 4 allows discriminating between exposure to 2 Gy and lower and between 10 Gy and higher. The discrimination is possible up to 1 mo after exposure.
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7. |
- Drobin, Kimi, et al.
(author)
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Molecular Profiling for Predictors of Radiosensitivity in Patients with Breast or Head-and-Neck Cancer
- 2020
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In: Cancers. - : MDPI AG. - 2072-6694. ; 12:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Nearly half of all cancers are treated with radiotherapy alone or in combination with other treatments, where damage to normal tissues is a limiting factor for the treatment. Radiotherapy-induced adverse health effects, mostly of importance for cancer patients with long-term survival, may appear during or long time after finishing radiotherapy and depending on the patient's radiosensitivity. Currently, there is no assay available that can reliably predict the individual's response to radiotherapy. We profiled two study sets from breast (n = 29) and head-and-neck cancer patients (n = 74) that included radiosensitive patients and matched radioresistant controls. We studied 55 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 33 genes by DNA genotyping and 130 circulating proteins by affinity-based plasma proteomics. In both study sets, we discovered several plasma proteins with the predictive power to find radiosensitive patients (adjusted p < 0.05) and validated the two most predictive proteins (THPO and STIM1) by sandwich immunoassays. By integrating genotypic and proteomic data into an analysis model, it was found that the proteins CHIT1, PDGFB, PNKD, RP2, SERPINC1, SLC4A, STIM1, and THPO, as well as the VEGFA gene variant rs69947, predicted radiosensitivity of our breast cancer (AUC = 0.76) and head-and-neck cancer (AUC = 0.89) patients. In conclusion, circulating proteins and a SNP variant of VEGFA suggest that processes such as vascular growth capacity, immune response, DNA repair and oxidative stress/hypoxia may be involved in an individual's risk of experiencing radiation-induced toxicity.
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8. |
- López Riego, Milagrosa, et al.
(author)
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Short- and long-term effects of radiation exposure at low dose and low dose rate in AHH-1 lymphoblasts
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Understanding the relationship between low doses of ionizing radiation (IR), dose rate, and biological effects requires radiobiological experiments to circumvent epidemiological data uncertainties. Radiation-induced early and/or late effects on global gene expression, cell growth, viability, survival and chromosomal aberration frequency were investigated in AHH-1 lymphoblasts exposed to 0-100 mGy at 1.6-12 mGy/h or 0.35 Gy/min.At all dose rates, 25-100 mGy-exposed AHH-1 presented trends of reduced viability and surviving fraction. After acute 100 mGy exposure, cell growth (from day 17) and chromosomal aberration frequency (at day 30) were statistically significantly higher than control. A dose rate effect was evident at the level of chromosomal aberrations, where 100 mGy delivered at 1.6 mGy/h displayed reduced frequencies compared to acute exposure, despite a tendency towards increased aberrations compared to control. At 5 h, RNA-sequencing revealed upregulation of several histone genes at 1.6 and 12 mGy/h, besides upregulated DNA methyltransferase DNMT1 and downregulation of genes which potentially may contribute to genomic instability and cancer progression; CDK18, POLD4, BLNK (12 mGy/h). Acute exposure resulted in numerous DEGs at 21 days, including upregulated chromatin modulators ATRX and EZH1 and DNA repair genes BRCA2 and HSF4, among others. Many histones, including H4C8, were subsequently downregulated at 1.6 and 12 mGy/h, while the immune cell activator SH3BP2 was upregulated with dose rate on day 21. Downregulated chronic myeloid leukemia-associated genes were among the 78 affected pathways 5 h after 1.6 mGy/h exposure. Moreover, 29 functions, including stress response and apoptosis, were downregulated in these cells. At 21 days, one cancer-related pathway was deactivated at both 12 mGy/h and the acute dose rate. Altogether, these results show the potential cytotoxic and mutagenic effects of low doses in AHH-1 cells and a dose rate effect at the transcription and cytogenetic levels, which contributes to improved understanding of low dose and dose rate cellular effects.
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9. |
- Marczyk, Michal, et al.
(author)
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Analysis of the Applicability of microRNAs in Peripheral Blood Leukocytes as Biomarkers of Sensitivity and Exposure to Fractionated Radiotherapy towards Breast Cancer
- 2021
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In: International Journal of Molecular Sciences. - : MDPI AG. - 1661-6596 .- 1422-0067. ; 22:16
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Biomarkers for predicting individual response to radiation and for dose verification are needed to improve radiotherapy. A biomarker should optimally show signal fidelity, meaning that its level is stable and proportional to the absorbed dose. miRNA levels in human blood serum were suggested as promising biomarkers. The aim of the present investigation was to test the miRNA biomarker in leukocytes of breast cancer patients undergoing external beam radiotherapy. Leukocytes were isolated from blood samples collected prior to exposure (control); on the day when a total dose of 2 Gy, 10 Gy, or 20 Gy was reached; and one month after therapy ended (46-50 Gy in total). RNA sequencing was performed and univariate analysis was used to analyse the effect of the radiation dose on the expression of single miRNAs. To check if combinations of miRNAs can predict absorbed dose, a multinomial logistic regression model was built using a training set from eight patients (representing 40 samples) and a validation set with samples from the remaining eight patients (15 samples). Finally, Broadside, an explorative interaction mining tool, was used to extract sets of interacting miRNAs. The most prominently increased miRNA was miR-744-5p, followed by miR-4461, miR-34a-5p, miR-6513-5p, miR-1246, and miR-454-3p. Decreased miRNAs were miR-3065-3p, miR-103a-2-5p, miR-30b-3p, and miR-5690. Generally, most miRNAs showed a relatively strong inter-individual variability and different temporal patterns over the course of radiotherapy. In conclusion, miR-744-5p shows promise as a stable miRNA marker, but most tested miRNAs displayed individual signal variability which, at least in this setting, may exclude them as sensitive biomarkers of radiation response.
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10. |
- van Meel, Evelien R., et al.
(author)
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Early-life respiratory tract infections and the risk of school-age lower lung function and asthma: a meta-analysis of 150 000 European children
- 2022
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In: European Respiratory Journal. - : EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY SOC JOURNALS LTD. - 0903-1936 .- 1399-3003. ; 60:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Early-life respiratory tract infections might affect chronic obstructive respiratory diseases, but conclusive studies from general populations are lacking. Our objective was to examine if children with early-life respiratory tract infections had increased risks of lower lung function and asthma at school age. Methods We used individual participant data of 150 090 children primarily from the EU Child Cohort Network to examine the associations of upper and lower respiratory tract infections from age 6 months to 5 years with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC, forced expiratory flow at 75% of FVC (FEF75%) and asthma at a median (range) age of 7 (4-15) years. Results Children with early-life lower, not upper, respiratory tract infections had a lower school-age FEV1, FEV1/FVC and FEF75% (z-score range: -0.09 (95% CI -0.14- -0.04) to -0.30 (95% CI -0.36- -0.24)). Children with early-life lower respiratory tract infections had a higher increased risk of school-age asthma than those with upper respiratory tract infections (OR range: 2.10 (95% CI 1.98-2.22) to 6.30 (95% CI 5.64-7.04) and 1.25 (95% CI 1.18-1.32) to 1.55 (95% CI 1.47-1.65), respectively). Adjustment for preceding respiratory tract infections slightly decreased the strength of the effects. Observed associations were similar for those with and without early-life wheezing as a proxy for early-life asthma. Conclusions Our findings suggest that early-life respiratory tract infections affect development of chronic obstructive respiratory diseases in later life, with the strongest effects for lower respiratory tract infections.
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