Biomedical subjects

Keisuke S Iwamoto

Publications and source records attributed to Keisuke S Iwamoto.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

The biological effectiveness of antiproton irradiation.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Antiprotons travel through tissue in a manner similar to that for protons until they reach the end of their range where they annihilate and deposit additional energy. This makes them potentially interesting for radiotherapy. The aim of this study was to conduct the first ever measurements of the biological effectiveness of antiprotons. MATERIALS AND METHODS: V79 cells were suspended in a semi-solid matrix and irradiated with 46.7MeV antiprotons, 48MeV protons, or (60)Co gamma-rays. Clonogenic survival was determined as a function of depth along the particle beams. Dose and particle fluence response relationships were constructed from data in the plateau and Bragg peak regions of the beams and used to assess the biological effectiveness. RESULTS: Due to uncertainties in antiproton dosimetry we defined a new term, called the biologically effective dose ratio (BEDR), which compares the response in a minimally spread out Bragg peak (SOBP) to that in the plateau as a function of particle fluence. This value was approximately 3.75 times larger for antiprotons than for protons. This increase arises due to the increased dose deposited in the Bragg peak by annihilation and because this dose has a higher relative biological effectiveness (RBE). CONCLUSION: We have produced the first measurements of the biological consequences of antiproton irradiation. These data substantiate theoretical predictions of the biological effects of antiproton annihilation within the Bragg peak, and suggest antiprotons warrant further investigation.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

HDJ-2 as a target for radiosensitization of glioblastoma multiforme cells by the farnesyltransferase inhibitor R115777 and the role of the p53/p21 pathway.

Resistance of glioblastoma multiforme to radiotherapy poses a major clinical challenge. Farnesyltransferase inhibitors (FTI), such as R115777, have potential to increase radiotherapeutic benefit in this disease, although their mechanism of action is unclear. In our study with eight glioblastoma multiforme cell lines, the most sensitive ones underwent cell cycle arrest in response to FTI treatment. Radiosensitization by FTIs, however, seemed to involve other pathways. If R115777 treatment was initiated < 6 hours before irradiation, all eight glioblastoma multiforme lines were radiosensitized. However, if the time between drug and radiation was extended to 24 hours, cells harboring wild type but not mutated p53 were able to counteract drug-induced radiosensitization. The involvement of the p53/p21 pathway in the development of resistance was confirmed by showing that U87 cells transfected with human papillomavirus E6 to block p53 or interfering RNA to inhibit p21 stayed radiosensitive for 24 hours after drug treatment. The time dependency of R115777-induced radiosensitization suggested that the initial FTI target for early radiosensitization was short-lived, and that a p21-directed pathway restored resistance. Consideration of prenylated molecules that could potentially be involved led us to consider HDJ-2, a co-chaperone of heat shock protein 70. This hypothesis was strengthened by finding that cellular radiosensitivity was increased by genetic inhibition of HDJ-2, whereas overexpression conferred radioresistance. Importantly, irradiation of cells caused HDJ-2 to migrate from the cytoplasm to the nucleus, and this migration was inhibited by prior FTI treatment. These results have clinical relevance in that they help explain the variability in responses to FTIs that occurs following radiotherapy and elucidate some of the reasons for the complexity underlying FTI-induced radiosensitization.

Cell Cycle↗

PubMed2006

Molecular basis of basal cell carcinogenesis in the atomic-bomb survivor population: p53 and PTCH gene alterations.

Epidemiological studies suggest that UV exposure from sunlight is the major etiology for skin cancers, both melanocytic and non-melanocytic. However, the radiation-related risk for skin cancer among atomic bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is primarily derived from the excess risk of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), with no demonstrable excess in squamous cell carcinoma or melanoma. The BCCs in this cohort are therefore unusual in being potentially attributable to two types of radiation-UV and ionizing (IR). BCCs have been associated with PTCH and/or p53 tumor suppressor gene alterations. To investigate the roles of these genes in relation to IR and UV exposures, we analyzed both genes in BCC samples from atomic bomb survivors. We examined 47 tumors, of which 70% had non-silent base-substitution p53 mutations independent of IR or UV exposure. However, the distribution of mutation type depends on UV and/or IR exposure. For example, C-to-T transitions at CpG sites adjacent to pyrimidine-pyrimidine (PyPy) sequences were more prevalent in tumors from UV-exposed than UV-shielded body areas and CpG-mutations at non-PyPy sequences were more prevalent in tumors from UV-shielded body areas with high-IR (>or=1 Gy) than low-IR (<0.2 Gy) exposure. And notably, although p53 deletion-frequencies demonstrated no IR-dose associations, deletions at the PTCH locus were more frequent (79% versus 44%) in tumors with high-IR than low-IR exposure. Moreover, 60% of high-IR tumors harbored both p53 and PTCH abnormalities compared with 23% of low-IR tumors. Therefore, alteration of both genes is likely to play a role in radiation-induced basal cell carcinogenesis.

Basal Cell Carcinoma↗

PubMed2006

A dose-dependent decrease in the fraction of cases harboring M6P/IGF2R mutations in hepatocellular carcinomas from the atomic bomb survivors.

The risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development is significantly heightened in the atomic bomb survivors, but the mechanism is unclear. We have previously reported finding a radiation dose-dependent increase in HCCs with TP53 mutations from the survivors. We now show that, in the same HCC samples, the frequency of 3'-untranslated region (3'UTR) mutations in M6P/IGF2R, a candidate HCC tumor suppressor gene, decreases with dose (P = 0.0091), implying a radiation dose-dependent negative selection of cells harboring such mutations. The fact that they were in the 3'UTR implicates changes in transcript stability rather than in protein function as the mechanism. Moreover, these M6P/IGF2R 3'UTR mutations and the TP53 mutations detected previously were mutually exclusive in most of the tumors, suggesting two independent pathways to HCC development, with the TP53 pathway being more favored with increasing radiation dose than the M6P/IGF2R pathway. These results suggest that tumors attributable to radiation may be genotypically different from tumors of other etiologies and hence may provide a way of distinguishing radiation-induced cancers from "background" cancers--a shift from the current paradigm.

Body Burden↗

PubMed2006

Point-source irradiation with eccentric rotation causes inhomogeneous dose distribution.

Radioactive point sources are regularly used for irradiating cell culture and other biological materials. Eccentric rotation is often used to minimize dose disparities that arise from irradiating samples that span a distance from the point source. Rotation provides a great improvement in dose homogeneity compared to inert irradiation yet still presents an obvious shortcoming for exposures in which the sample completes only partial rotation or fractional rotation. In such cases, certain areas of the sample have a closer average distance to the radiation source than other areas within the same sample. This obstacle can be partially overcome by adjusting rotation speed so the sample traverses a full rotation (or multiple thereof) throughout the total irradiation time. Here we investigate the effects of irradiation with eccentric rotation on dose homogeneity. We show that due to the inverse square law that governs dose, even exposures with full rotation result in inhomogeneous dose distributions. This dose inhomogeneity can be substantial, especially for large samples and small source- sample distances. We observed a 33% difference in survival across 100-mm dishes and a 400% difference for 150-mm dishes. The dose inhomogeneity inherent to eccentric rotation increases the actual average dose delivered across the sample compared to that delivered at sample center. We offer a table of correction factors that account for this dose increase and correct the dose delivered at center to the actual average dose delivered across the entire sample.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Proteasome structures affected by ionizing radiation.

Exposure of cells to ionizing radiation slows the rate of degradation of substrates through the proteasome. Because the 26S proteasome degrades most short-lived cellular proteins, changes in its activity might significantly, and selectively, alter the life span of many signaling proteins and play a role in promoting the biological consequences of radiation exposure, such as cell cycle arrest, DNA repair, and apoptosis. Experiments were therefore undertaken to identify the radiation target that is associated with the proteasome. Regardless of whether they were irradiated before or after extraction and purification from human prostate cancer PC3 cells, 26S proteasomes remained intact but showed a rapid 30% to 50% dose-independent decrease in their three major enzymatic activities following exposure to 1 to 20 Gy. There was no effect on 20S proteasomes, suggesting that the radiation-sensitive target is located in the 19S cap of the 26S proteasome, rather than in the enzymatically active core. Because the base of the 19S cap contains an ATPase ring that mediates substrate unfolding, pore opening, and translocation of substrates into the catalytic chamber, we examined whether the ATPase activity of purified 26S proteasomes was affected. In fact, in vitro irradiation of proteasomes enhanced their ATPase activity. Furthermore, pretreatment with low concentrations of the free radical scavenger tempol was able to prevent both the radiation-induced decrease in proteolytic activity and the increase in ATP utilization, indicating that free radicals are mediators of these radiation-induced phenomena. Finally, we have shown that cell irradiation results in the accumulation of proteasome substrates: polyubiquitinated proteins and ornithine decarboxylase, indicating that the observed decrease in proteasome function is physiologically relevant.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

PubMed2004

Ionizing radiation affects human MART-1 melanoma antigen processing and presentation by dendritic cells.

Radiation is generally considered to be an immunosuppressive agent that acts by killing radiosensitive lymphocytes. In this study, we demonstrate the noncytotoxic effects of ionizing radiation on MHC class I Ag presentation by bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (DCs) that have divergent consequences depending upon whether peptides are endogenously processed and loaded onto MHC class I molecules or are added exogenously. The endogenous pathway was examined using C57BL/6 murine DCs transduced with adenovirus to express the human melanoma/melanocyte Ag recognized by T cells (AdVMART1). Prior irradiation abrogated the ability of AdVMART1-transduced DCs to induce MART-1-specific T cell responses following their injection into mice. The ability of these same DCs to generate protective immunity against B16 melanoma, which expresses murine MART-1, was also abrogated by radiation. Failure of AdVMART1-transduced DCs to generate antitumor immunity following irradiation was not due to cytotoxicity or to radiation-induced block in DC maturation or loss in expression of MHC class I or costimulatory molecules. Expression of some of these molecules was affected, but because irradiation actually enhanced the ability of DCs to generate lymphocyte responses to the peptide MART-1(27-35) that is immunodominant in the context of HLA-A2.1, they were unlikely to be critical. The increase in lymphocyte reactivity generated by irradiated DCs pulsed with MART-1(27-35) also protected mice against growth of B16-A2/K(b) tumors in HLA-A2.1/K(b) transgenic mice. Taken together, these results suggest that radiation modulates MHC class I-mediated antitumor immunity by functionally affecting DC Ag presentation pathways.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

A sense of danger from radiation.

Tissue damage caused by exposure to pathogens, chemicals and physical agents such as ionizing radiation triggers production of generic "danger" signals that mobilize the innate and acquired immune system to deal with the intrusion and effect tissue repair with the goal of maintaining the integrity of the tissue and the body. Ionizing radiation appears to do the same, but less is known about the role of "danger" signals in tissue responses to this agent. This review deals with the nature of putative "danger" signals that may be generated by exposure to ionizing radiation and their significance. There are a number of potential consequences of "danger" signaling in response to radiation exposure. "Danger" signals could mediate the pathogenesis of, or recovery from, radiation damage. They could alter intrinsic cellular radiosensitivity or initiate radioadaptive responses to subsequent exposure. They may spread outside the locally damaged site and mediate bystander or "out-of-field" radiation effects. Finally, an important aspect of classical "danger" signals is that they link initial nonspecific immune responses in a pathological site to the development of specific adaptive immunity. Interestingly, in the case of radiation, there is little evidence that "danger" signals efficiently translate radiation-induced tumor cell death into the generation of tumor-specific immunity or normal tissue damage into autoimmunity. The suggestion is that radiation-induced "danger" signals may be inadequate in this respect or that radiation interferes with the generation of specific immunity. There are many issues that need to be resolved regarding "danger" signaling after exposure to ionizing radiation. Evidence of their importance is, in some areas, scant, but the issues are worthy of consideration, if for no other reason than that manipulation of these pathways has the potential to improve the therapeutic benefit of radiation therapy. This article focuses on how normal tissues and tumors sense and respond to danger from ionizing radiation, on the nature of the signals that are sent, and on the impact on the eventual consequences of exposure.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

The role of the ubiquitin/proteasome system in cellular responses to radiation.

In the last few years, the ubiquitin(Ub)/proteasome system has become increasingly recognized as a controller of numerous physiological processes, including signal transduction, DNA repair, chromosome maintenance, transcriptional activation, cell cycle progression, cell survival, and certain immune cell functions. This is in addition to its more established roles in the removal of misfolded, damaged, and effete proteins. This review examines the role of the Ub/proteasome system in processes underlying the classical effects of irradiation on cells, such as radiation-induced gene expression, DNA repair and chromosome instability, oxidative damage, cell cycle arrest, and cell death. Furthermore, recent evidence suggests that the proteasome is a redox-sensitive target for ionizing radiation and other oxidative stress signals. In other words, the Ub/proteasome system may not simply be a passive player in radiation-induced responses, but may modulate them. The extent of the modulation will be influenced by the functional and structural diversity that is expressed by the system. Cell types vary in the Ub/proteasome structures they possess and the level at which they function, and this changes as they go from the normal to the cancerous condition. Cancer-related functional changes within the Ub/proteasome system may therefore present unique targets for cancer therapy, especially when targeting agents are used in combination with radio- or chemotherapy. The peptide boronic acid compound PS-341, which was designed to inhibit proteasome chymotryptic activity, is in clinical trials for the treatment of solid and hematogenous tumors. It has shown some efficacy on its own and in combination with chemotherapy. Preclinical studies have shown that PS-341 will also potentiate the cytotoxic effects of radiation therapy. In addition, other drugs in common clinical use have been shown to affect proteasome function, and their activities may be valuably reconsidered from this perspective.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

PubMed2003

Tracking the errant cell after the atomic bombings: what went wrong?

Epidemiological data collected after the atomic-bomb blasts of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have established a link between radiation exposure and human cancer development and are the major source of information for current radiation-induced cancer risk assessment. To determine the mechanistic basis for radiation carcinogenesis, retrospective molecular analyses of archival hepatocellular carcinoma tissues from the atomic-bomb survivors were conducted. The tumor suppressor genes p53 and M6P/IGF2r were examined. HCC cases had either p53 mutations or M6P/IGF2r mutations, but rarely both. Moreover, the frequency of cases with M6P/ IGF2r mutations actually decreased with dose, while those for p53 increased. This implies two independent selection processes leading to liver cancer and that in radiation-induced HCC tumors the spectrum of molecular changes is different from that in "background" tumors.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular↗

PubMed2002

Induction of radioprotective peroxiredoxin-I by ionizing irradiation.

Results of this study indicate a radioprotective effect of peroxiredoxin-I. Peroxiredoxin-I is an antioxidant that scavenges hydroperoxides, whereas reactive oxygen species are the main mediators of ionizing radiation toxicity. We hypothesized that peroxiredoxin-I might be induced by cellular exposure to radiation and act to protect them against its cytotoxic effects. Western blot and Northern blot analyses were used to assess peroxiredoxin-I protein and mRNA expression. Rat C6 glioma cells were engineered to overexpress sense or antisense human peroxiredoxin-I using retroviral vectors. Clonogenic cell survival was used to assess radiosensitivities of the engineered cells. Ionizing radiation induced peroxiredoxin-I protein and mRNA expression in human HT29 colon cancer and rat C6 glioma cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner over a 24 hr period. To determine the effect of peroxiredoxin-I on radiation responses, C6 glioma cells were engineered to overexpress sense or antisense human peroxiredoxin-I. In clonogenic assays, cells overexpressing peroxiredoxin-I were more radioresistant. Cells transduced with antisense peroxiredoxin-I were marginally more sensitive to radiation toxicity. Irradiation can induce peroxiredoxin-I expression, and the increased peroxiredoxin-I may protect cells from further radiation damage. These results suggest that protection by peroxiredoxin-I may play an important role in the survival of glioma and colon cancer cells in patients undergoing radiation therapy.

Animals↗