Cell response to ionising radiation analysed by gene expression patterns

Abstract

Following ionising radiation exposure of living cells several mechanisms are activated through gene modulations. The measurement of these modifications can be done with QT-PCR and, since about 10 years, microarray technique. The latter approach has the advantage to allow a global monitoring of the complex cellular responses to radiation-induced stress and has been proposed to be used for dose assessment. Even if some publications have identified sets of genes specific to given doses, and that some of the genes have an induction proportional to the dose, a precise estimation of the received dose seems difficult with gene expression, at least in the near future. Nevertherless, in vivo studies have shown that gene profiles of individuals chronically exposed to a cumulative dose of more than 10 mSv are significantly modified. This highlights the great potential of microarray approaches in the detection of low dose exposure.