"the effect of vitamin e on splenocytes apoptosis of gamma-irradiated balb/c mice "

apoptosis, a physiologic mechanism to eliminate unwanted cells, is also induced by ionizing irradiation, through production of free radicals. it has been demonstrated that antioxidants such as vitamin e are able to protect cells from damage caused by free radicals. taken together we found it reasonable to make an attempt to evaluate the protective effect of vitamin e against apoptosis. the irradiated mice received 1 gy/day gamma radiation for one day (low dose) or for three successive days (high dose, 3gy). the splenocytes were then isolated at 6, 14 and 24 h after exposure. dna gel electrophoresis and dna fragmentation assay were done in addition to the evaluation of splenocytes cytology. our results showed that vitamin e can reduce apoptosis against low dose irradiation. however it is not able to completely block programmed cell death in high dose irradition.