Inverse dose-rate-effects on the expressions of extra-cellular matrix-related genes in low-dose-rate gamma-ray irradiated murine cells.

Based on the results of previous microarray analyses of murine NIH3T3/PG13Luc cells irradiated with continuous low-dose-rate (LDR) gamma-ray or end-high-dose-rate-irradiations (end-HDR) at the end of the LDR-irradiation period, the inverse dose-rate-effects on gene expression levels were observed. To compare differences of the effects between LDR-irradiation and HDR-irradiation, HDR-irradiations at 2 different times, one (ini-HDR) at the same time at the start of LDR-irradiation and the other (end-HDR), were performed. The up-regulated genes were classified into two types, in which one was up-regulated in LDR-, ini-HDR-, and end-HDR irradiation such as Cdkn1a and Ccng1, which were reported as p53-dependent genes, and the other was up-regulated in LDR- and ini-HDR irradiations such as pro-collagen TypeIa2/Col1a2, TenascinC/Tnc, and Fibulin5/Fbln5, which were reported as extra-cellular matrix-related (ECM) genes. The time dependent gene expression patterns in LDR-irradiation were also classified into two types, in which one was an early response such as in Cdkn1a and Ccng1 and the other was a delayed response such as the ECM genes which have no linearity to total dose. The protein expression pattern of Cdkn1a increased dose dependently in LDR- and end-HDR-irradiations, but those of p53Ser15/18 and MDM2 in LDR-irradiations were different from end-HDR-irradiations. Furthermore, the gene expression levels of the ECM genes in embryonic fibroblasts from p53-deficient mice were not increased by LDR- and end-HDR-irradiation, so the delayed expressions of the ECM genes seem to be regulated by p53. Consequently, the inverse dose-rate-effects on the expression levels of the ECM genes in LDR- and end-HDR-irradiations may be explained from different time responses by p53 status.