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Review
. 2024 Jun 26;25(13):6973.
doi: 10.3390/ijms25136973.

Cell Therapies for Acute Radiation Syndrome

Barbara A Christy  1   2 , Maryanne C Herzig  1 , Xiaowu Wu  1 , Arezoo Mohammadipoor  3 , Jennifer S McDaniel  1 , James A Bynum  1   4   5
Affiliations
Review

Cell Therapies for Acute Radiation Syndrome

Barbara A Christy et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

The risks of severe ionizing radiation exposure are increasing due to the involvement of nuclear powers in combat operations, the increasing use of nuclear power, and the existence of terrorist threats. Exposure to a whole-body radiation dose above about 0.7 Gy results in H-ARS (hematopoietic acute radiation syndrome), which is characterized by damage to the hematopoietic system; higher doses result in further damage to the gastrointestinal and nervous systems. Only a few medical countermeasures for ARS are currently available and approved for use, although others are in development. Cell therapies (cells or products produced by cells) are complex therapeutics that show promise for the treatment of radiation injury and have been shown to reduce mortality and morbidity in animal models. Since clinical trials for ARS cannot be ethically conducted, animal testing is extremely important. Here, we describe cell therapies that have been tested in animal models. Both cells and cell products appear to promote survival and lessen tissue damage after whole-body irradiation, although the mechanisms are not clear. Because radiation exposure often occurs in conjunction with other traumatic injuries, animal models of combined injury involving radiation and future countermeasure testing for these complex medical problems are also discussed.

Keywords: cell therapy; extracellular vesicles; mesenchymal stromal cells; radiation injury.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the US Army Medical Department, Department of the Army, DoD, or the US Government.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Subsyndromes of acute radiation syndrome. Whole-body radiation doses above approximately 0.7 Gy (in humans) result in serious radiation injury, with the hematopoietic system being affected at the lower dose range. Above 10 Gy, damage to the gastrointestinal system is observed in addition to the hematopoietic system damage. Above 50 Gy, serious damage to the central nervous system also occurs. As indicated in the figure, cell therapies may provide benefits to patients with H-ARS and/or GI-ARS but are unlikely to benefit patients with CNS-ARS. ARS, acute radiation syndrome. H-ARS, hematopoietic ARS. GI-ARS, gastrointestinal ARS. CNS-ARS, central nervous system ARS.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cellular therapeutics (cells or cell products) have shown benefits in several organ systems in animal models of acute radiation syndrome.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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