Delineating the Effects of Ionizing Radiation on Erythropoietic Lineage—Implications for Radiation Biodosimetry

Abstract

The overall lethality/morbidity of ionizing radiation exposure involves multiple forms of inhibitory or cytotoxic effects that may manifest in different tissues with a varying dose and time response. One of the major systemic effects leading to lethality of radiation includes its suppressive effect on hematopoiesis, which could be observed even at doses as low as 1–2 Gy, whereas effects on gastrointestinal and nervous systems appear at relatively higher doses in the same order. This article reviews the effects of radiation on the three distinct stages of erythropoiesis—formation of erythroid progenitor cells, differentiation of erythroid precursor cells, and terminal maturation. During these stepwise developmental processes, erythroid progenitor cells undergo rapid expansion to form terminally differentiated red blood cells that are continuously replenished from bone marrow into the circulating peripheral blood stream. Cellular radiation response depends upon many factors such as cell lineage, rate of proliferation, and differentiation status. Therefore, we discuss radiation-induced alterations during the progenitor, precursor, and terminal maturation stages and the implications thereof. Since biomarkers of ionizing radiation exposure in human populations are of great interest for assessing normal tissue injury as well as for biodosimetry in the event of accidental or incidental radiation exposures, we also highlight blood-based biomarkers that have potential utility for medical management.

Dose-Response Effects of Low-Dose Ionizing Radiation on Blood Parameters in Industrial Irradiation Workers

“…A study on mice found that erythrocyte number significantly decreased after gamma radiation at different doses (2.5 and 5.0 Gy) and the recovery from the radioactivity began on day 7; however, it did not return to normal values even by the end of the experiment. 42 Dose-response studies in bone marrow have shown that erythroid progenitor cells are highly sensitive to radiation. One of the major systemic effects leading to radiation lethality includes the inhibitory effect of radiation on hematopoiesis, which is observed at doses as low as 1‒2 Gy.…”

Over-Expression of Centromere Protein U Participates in the Malignant Neoplastic Progression of Breast Cancer

“…This is the first report on the location of CENP-U protein both in the nucleus and cytoplasm of four breast cancer cell lines and normal epithelial cell line. Early studies about the subcellular localization of CENP-U in normal tissue showed that CENP-U is mainly distributed in the nucleus (30)(31)(32), but it remains unclear in cancer cells. In malignant cells, CENP-A or CENP-C would appear non-chromatin ectopic expression (8,37).…”

“…Instead of the CENP-U antibody, phosphate buffered saline (PBS) was used as a negative control. CENP-U is located in both cytoplasm and nucleus (30)(31)(32). The criteria for assessing positive cells were the presence of brown or dark brown yellow particles in the cytoplasm or nucleus.…”

The Effect of Low-Energy Laser-Driven Ultrashort Pulsed Electron Beam Irradiation on Erythropoiesis and Oxidative Stress in Rats

“…Being responsible for the transportation of oxygen from the lungs throughout the body, among all the cells in the organism, the erythroid cells circulating in the blood stream, red blood cells (RBCs), are among the first cells in the organism affected by ROS [ 15 , 16 ]. It is not only the erythroid cells circulating in the blood stream that may be vulnerable to the effect of radiation; the radiation may cause harmful consequences in the process of erythropoiesis as whole [ 17 , 18 ]. Particularly, it has been shown that ROS play a crucial role in the deleterious effect of radiation on the process of erythropoiesis [ 19 , 20 , 21 ].…”