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Results for “GAMMA RAYS”

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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

The sensitivity of the alkaline comet assay in detecting DNA lesions induced by X rays, gamma rays and alpha particles.

Experiments were designed and performed in order to investigate whether or not the different cellular energy deposition patterns of photon radiation with different energies (29 kV, 220 kV X rays; Co-60, Cs-137-gamma-rays) and alpha-radiation from an Am-241 source differ in DNA damage induction capacity in human cells. For this purpose, the alkaline comet assay (single cell gel electrophoresis) was applied to measure the amount of DNA damage in relation to the dose received. The comet assay data for the parameters '% DNA in the tail' and 'tail moment' for human peripheral lymphocytes did not indicate any difference in the initial radiation damage produced by 29 kV X rays relative to the reference radiations, 220 kV X rays and the gamma rays, whether for the total mean dose range of 0-3 Gy nor in the low-dose range. In contrast, when the 'tail length' data were analysed saturation of the fitted dose response curve appeared for X rays at about 1.5 Gy but was not apparent for gamma rays up to 3 Gy. Preliminary data for alpha exposures of HSC45-M2 cells showed a significant increase in DNA damage only at high doses (>2 Gy Am-241), but the damage at 2 Gy exceeded the damage induced at 2 Gy by Cs-137-gamma-rays by a factor of 2.5. In contrast, other experiments involving different cell systems and DNA damage indicators such as chromosomal aberrations have detected a significant increase in DNA damage at much lower doses, that is at 0.02 Gy for Am-241 and depicte a higher biological effectiveness. These results indicate that differences in biological effects arise through downstream processing of complex DNA damage.

Alpha Particles↗
PubMed2005

Measurement of the initial levels of DNA damage in human lymphocytes induced by 29 kV X rays (mammography X rays) relative to 220 kV X rays and gamma rays.

Experiments using the alkaline comet assay, which measures all single-strand breaks regardless of their origin, were performed to evaluate the biological effectiveness of photons with different energies in causing these breaks. The aim was to measure human lymphocytes directly for DNA damage and subsequent repair kinetics induced by mammography 29 kV X rays relative to 220 kV X rays, 137Cs gamma rays and 60Co gamma rays. The level of DNA damage, predominantly due to single-strand breaks, was computed as the Olive tail moment or percentage DNA in the tail for different air kerma doses (0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5, 2 and 3 Gy). Fifty cells were analyzed per slide with a semiautomatic imaging system. Data from five independent experiments were transformed to natural logarithms and fitted using a multiple linear regression analysis. Irradiations with the different photon energies were performed simultaneously for each experiment to minimize interexperimental variation. Blood from only one male and one female was used. The interexperimental variation and the influence of donor gender were negligible. In addition, repair kinetics and residual DNA damage after exposure to a dose of 3 Gy were evaluated in three independent experiments for different repair times (10, 20, 30 and 60 min). Data for the fraction of remaining damage were fitted to the simple function F(d) = A/(t + A), where F(d) is the fraction of remaining damage, t is the time allowed for repair, and A (the only fit parameter) is the repair half-time. It was found that the comet assay data did not indicate any difference in the initial radiation damage produced by 29 kV X rays relative to the reference radiation types, 220 kV X rays and the gamma rays of 137Cs and 60Co, either for the total dose range or in the low-dose range. These results are, with some restrictions, consistent with physical examinations and predictions concerning, for example, the assessment of the possible difference in effectiveness in causing strand breaks between mammography X rays and conventional (150-250 kV) X rays, indicating that differences in biological effects must arise through downstream processing of the damage.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

A link between prompt optical and prompt gamma-ray emission in gamma-ray bursts.

The prompt optical emission that arrives with the gamma-rays from a cosmic gamma-ray burst (GRB) is a signature of the engine powering the burst, the properties of the ultra-relativistic ejecta of the explosion, and the ejecta's interactions with the surroundings. Until now, only GRB 990123 had been detected at optical wavelengths during the burst phase. Its prompt optical emission was variable and uncorrelated with the prompt gamma-ray emission, suggesting that the optical emission was generated by a reverse shock arising from the ejecta's collision with surrounding material. Here we report prompt optical emission from GRB 041219a. It is variable and correlated with the prompt gamma-rays, indicating a common origin for the optical light and the gamma-rays. Within the context of the standard fireball model of GRBs, we attribute this new optical component to internal shocks driven into the burst ejecta by variations of the inner engine. The correlated optical emission is a direct probe of the jet isolated from the medium. The timing of the uncorrelated optical emission is strongly dependent on the nature of the medium.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

[Apoptosis and gamma rays].

Gamma radiation can induce cell death in lymphocytes. Apoptosis is characterized by numerous morphological, biochemical and molecular modifications measurable using various methods. Some radioprotectors have antioxidant properties and are able to inhibit radiation-induced DNA fragmentation and caspase activation. There are several caspases that cleave proteolytically many proteins and trigger phosphatidylserine externalization recognized by phagocytes. Three main proteins are involved in the regulation of radiation-induced apoptosis: p53, Fas and Bcl-2. The pharmacological regulation of cell death is discussed in order to investigate the subsequent effects related to cell regeneration following radiation injury.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

The variation in biological effectiveness of X-rays and gamma rays with energy.

The ICRP has attributed the same relative risk for all low-LET (linear energy transfer) radiations, including X and gamma radiations of all energies. However, very low energy X-rays are expected to be more biologically effective, per unit absorbed dose, than high energy X-rays or gamma rays due to the production of lower energy secondary electrons, with a correspondingly higher LET. This increase in relative biological effectiveness (RBE) is also seen experimentally for a range of biological end-points, however, a wide range of RBE values have been reported. The assessment of risks is particularly important due to the use of low energy X-rays for mammography screening. A review of the published data on the variation in biological effectiveness with energy is presented here.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

DNA microarray analyses reveal a post-irradiation differential time-dependent gene expression profile in yeast cells exposed to X-rays and gamma-rays.

Ionizing radiation (IR) is the most enigmatic of genotoxic stress inducers in our environment that has been around from the eons of time. IR is generally considered harmful, and has been the subject of numerous studies, mostly looking at the DNA damaging effects in cells and the repair mechanisms therein. Moreover, few studies have focused on large-scale identification of cellular responses to IR, and to this end, we describe here an initial study on the transcriptional responses of the unicellular genome model, yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain S288C), by cDNA microarray. The effect of two different IR, X-rays, and gamma (gamma)-rays, was investigated by irradiating the yeast cells cultured in YPD medium with 50 Gy doses of X- and gamma-rays, followed by resuspension of the cells in YPD for time-course experiments. The samples were collected for microarray analysis at 20, 40, and 80 min after irradiation. Microarray analysis revealed a time-course transcriptional profile of changed gene expressions. Up-regulated genes belonged to the functional categories mainly related to cell cycle and DNA processing, cell rescue defense and virulence, protein and cell fate, and metabolism (X- and gamma-rays). Similarly, for X- and gamma-rays, the down-regulated genes belonged to mostly transcription and protein synthesis, cell cycle and DNA processing, control of cellular organization, cell fate, and C-compound and carbohydrate metabolism categories, respectively. This study provides for the first time a snapshot of the genome-wide mRNA expression profiles in X- and gamma-ray post-irradiated yeast cells and comparatively interprets/discusses the changed gene functional categories as effects of these two radiations vis-à-vis their energy levels.

Down-Regulation↗
PubMed2002

Heavy-ion-induced mutations in the gpt delta transgenic mouse: comparison of mutation spectra induced by heavy-ion, X-ray, and gamma-ray radiation.

Heavy-ion radiation accounts for the major component of absorbed cosmic radiation and is thus regarded as a significant risk during long-term manned space missions. To evaluate the genetic damage induced by heavy particle radiation, gpt delta transgenic mice were exposed to carbon particle irradiation and the induced mutations were compared with those induced by reference radiations, i.e., X-rays and gamma-rays. In the transgenic mouse model, deletions and point mutations were individually identified as Spi(-) and gpt mutations, respectively. Two days after 10 Gy of whole-body irradiation, the mutant frequencies (MFs) of Spi(-) and gpt were determined. Carbon particle irradiation significantly increased Spi(-) MF in the liver, spleen, and kidney but not in the testis, suggesting an organ-specific induction of mutations by heavy-ion irradiation. In the liver, the potency of inducing Spi(-) mutation was highest for carbon particles (3.3-fold increase) followed by X-rays (2.1-fold increase) and gamma-rays (1.3-fold increase), while the potency of inducing gpt mutations was highest for gamma-rays (3.3-fold increase) followed by X-rays (2.1-fold increase) and carbon particles (1.6-fold increase). DNA sequence analysis revealed that carbon particles induced deletions that were mainly more than 1,000 base pairs in size, whereas gamma-rays induced deletions of less than 100 base pairs and base substitutions. X-rays induced various-sized deletions and base substitutions. These results suggest that heavy-ion beam irradiation is effective at inducing deletions via DNA double-strand breaks but less effective than X-ray and gamma-ray irradiation at producing oxidative DNA damage by free radicals.

Aerospace Medicine↗