Role of cytokines and growth factors in radioprotection

Identification of Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor and Interleukin-6 as Candidate Biomarkers of CBLB502 Efficacy as a Medical Radiation Countermeasure

“…A number of compounds with diverse chemical structures and mechanisms of action have been explored as MRCs, including thiols (Grdina et al, 2002), cytokines (Waddick et al, 1991;Singh and Yadav, 2005), steroids (Whitnall et al, 2001), antioxidants (Weiss and Landauer, 2000), and nutraceuticals (Srinivasan and Weiss, 1992;Weiss and Landauer, 2000); however, to date none have been approved by the FDA as an MRC against ARS (Mettler and Voelz, 2002). To identify novel countermeasures against radiation and other tissue-damaging stresses, we looked toward the modulation of nuclear factor -B (NF-B), a transcriptional activator of multiple genes encoding: 1) antiapoptotic proteins (for review, see Karin and Lin, 2002), 2) cytokines and growth factors that induce proliferation and survival of HP and other stem cells (Hayden et al, 2006), and 3) reactive oxygen species-scavenging antioxidants (Xu et al, 1999).…”

Tocopherol succinate: A promising radiation countermeasure

“…Although a number of radiation countermeasures are under different stages of development, none has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use against the acute radiation syndrome [3]. In an effort to identify suitable radioprotectants, a number of compounds of diverse chemical structures have been considered: including thiols [4], cytokines [5,6], steroids [7], antioxidants [8], nutraceuticals [8,9], and superoxide dismutase/ catalase mimetic [10]. Among these, only amifostine has been approved for clinical use in conjunction with cisplatin for patients undergoing radiotherapy for head and neck cancer.…”

Effects of genistein administration on cytokine induction in whole-body gamma irradiated mice

“…The accelerated increase in neutrophils and platelets observed with genistein [21] may be associated with the induction of cytokines and growth factors known to play important roles in immune function, hematopoiesis, and radioresistance. It is well established that the stimulation of cytokine production may protect and repair the hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell compartment [33]. The administration of specific cytokines following exposure to sublethal doses of radiation enhances the survival of hematopoietic progenitor cells in the bone marrow and accelerates the recovery of peripheral blood cells [34][35][36][37].…”