RELATIVE ALTERATIONS IN BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELL-POPULATIONS REFLECT RADIATION-INJURY IN MICE

Citation
Ka. Chambers et al., RELATIVE ALTERATIONS IN BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELL-POPULATIONS REFLECT RADIATION-INJURY IN MICE, Cytometry, 31(1), 1998, pp. 45-52
Citations number
26
Categorie Soggetti
Cell Biology","Biochemical Research Methods
Journal title
ISSN journal
01964763
Volume
31
Issue
1
Year of publication
1998
Pages
45 - 52
Database
ISI
SICI code
0196-4763(1998)31:1<45:RAIBMC>2.0.ZU;2-9
Abstract
Damage to the immune and hematopoietic systems following exposure to i onizing radiation, whether accidental or for therapeutic purposes, ren ders victims susceptible to opportunistic infections and diseases. Elu cidating a reliable biological indicator or ''biological dosimeter'' t o indicate rapidly the extent of injury sustained by an individual wou ld be desirable, Total leukocyte count has been used historically as a n indicator of immune damage, but it is not truly indicative of functi onal immunity post-irradiation. A flow cytometric (FCM) technique was developed to determine whether a rapid reproducible assay could be dev eloped to assess the extent of radiation damage, To this end, peripher al blood leukocyte populations and subpopulations were monitored, C57B L/6 mice were exposed to 100-, 400-, or 700-cGy whole-body gamma-irrad iation (WBI) and blood samples were collected from the retro-orbital s inus 1, 4, and 7 days post-irradiation. The blood samples were prepare d for FCM by incubation with monoclonal antibodies (mAb) to various mu rine leukocyte CD surface markers, The results show that the proportio n of CD4+ T lymphocytes increased approximately 2-fold on day 4 after 700 cGy, the proportion of B lymphocytes declined markedly at all dose s relative to unirradiated controls, and natural killer (NK) cells ros e dramatically (9-fold) by day 4 after 700 cGy, The patterns of altera tion in the relative proportions of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) populations observed post-irradiation, particularly in B lymph ocytes and natural killer (NK) cells, seem to represent potent and con sistent indicators of immune damage, allowing some inference as to the immune competence of the individual. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.