Abstract
In order to study the mechanisms of low dose radiation adaptive response, we searched the variant expressions of proteins caused by low dose irradiation in astrocytes by using 2-D PAGE proteomics.
Astrocytes were cultured from variously aged Wistar rats. After low dose irradiation, proteins were extracted and subjected to 2-D PAGE. Alterations in the relative intensity of protein spots appearing on proteome profiles were analyzed and identifications of protein spots were performed using MALDI-TOF/MS/MS analysis. mRNA expression was analyzed by real time RT-PCR after extraction of total RNA from irradiated cells.
The protein spot, which expression was increased 3 hrs after low dose irradiation in young cells, was identified as a fragment of elongation factor 2 (EF2). From the results of western blot analysis and real time PCR analysis, the expression of intact EF2 was not altered by low dose irradiation. Therefore, EF2 fragment is unlikely to be a ruptured EF2, but likely to be a candidate for a factor involved in adaptive response.
