Long-term radiation exposure affects human health. Ionizing radiation has long been known to raise the risk of cancer. In addition to high doses of radiation, low-dose ionizing radiation might increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, lens opacity, and some other non-cancerous diseases. Low- and high-dose exposures to ionizing radiation elicit different signaling events at the molecular leve...

Genotoxic stress such as ionizing radiation can induce DNA damage and promote cell-cycle arrest or apoptosis through either a p53-dependent or -independent pathway. Recently, members of the FOXO Forkhead transcription factor family have been implicated in playing a role in both DNA repair and apoptosis in mammalian cells that promoted us to examine the role of FOXO transcription factors in ioni...

AIM To investigate whether autophagic cell death is involved in hyperthermic sensitization to ionizing radiation in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells, and to explore the underlying mechanism. METHODS Human hepatocellular carcinoma cells were treated with hyperthermia and ionizing radiation. MTT and clonogenic assays were performed to determine cell survival. Cell autophagy was detected usi...

Introduction: The effects of the low dose of ionizing radiation are not thoroughly evident due to an unavoidable increase of occupational exposure and the widespread application of ionizing radiation in medical and industrial fields. The aim of this study was to investigate immune system responses following the low doses of ionizing radiation. Materia...

The aim of this study was to investigate the radioprotective effect of thymol as a natural product against salivary glands dysfunction induced by ionizing radiation in rats. The rats were treated with thymol at dose of 50 mg/Kg before exposure to ionizing radiation at dose 15 Gy. Salivary gland function was evaluated with radioisotope scintigraphy and then salivary gland to background counts ra...

The p53 protein is one of the major tumor suppressor proteins. In response to DNA damage, p53 is prevented from degradation and accumulates to high levels. Ionizing radiation leads to hypophosphorylation of the p53 ubiquitin ligase Mdm2 at sites where phosphorylation is critical for p53 degradation and to the phosphorylation and activation of Akt/PKB, a kinase that phosphorylates and inhibits G...

Autophagy has recently emerged as a significant mechanism in cancer treatment. Although gemcitabine and/or ionizing radiation are important modalities in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, the contribution of autophagy in such treatment has not been fully elucidated. This study investigated the role of autophagy in the treatment of pancreatic cancer with gemcitabine and ionizing radiation. To ...

The very word "radiation" conjures up scary images – nuclear weapons, cancer therapy, perhaps a science fiction movie scenario with giant mutant ants. In fact, radiation in one form or another is a part of our daily lives. Understanding what radiation, or specifically, ionizing radiation, is can help you understand what risks you face. Although ionizing radiation is a broad topic, we will exami...