Abstract
We already reported that conditioning exposures at low doses, or at low dose-rates, lowered radiation-induced p53-dependent apoptosis in human cultured cells in vitro and in the spleens of mice in vivo. In this study, we aim to characterize the p53-dependent radioadaptive response at the molecular level. In wtp53 cells, it was demonstrated that the lack of p53 accumulation was coupled with the activation of Hdm2 after low dose irradiation (0.02 Gy). Although NO radicals were only minimally induced in wtp53 cells irradiated with a challenging irradiation (6 Gy) alone, NO radicals were increased about 2-4 fold after challenging irradiation following a priming irradiation (0.02 Gy). Under similar irradiation conditions with a priming and challenging irradiation in wtp53 cells, an induction of radioresistance and a depression of chromosomal aberrations were observed only in the absence of Pifithrin-α (a p53 inhibitor), RITA or Nutlin-3 (p53-Hdm2 interaction inhibitors), aminoguanidine (an iNOS inhibitor) and c-PTIO (an NO radical scavenger). On the other hand, in p53 dysfunctional cells, a radioadaptive response was not observed in the presence or absence of those inhibitors. Moreover, radioresistance developed when wtp53 cells were treated with ISDN (an NO generating agent) alone. These findings suggest that NO radicals are an initiator of the radioadaptive response acting through the activation of Hdm2 and the depression of p53 accumulation.
