Bystander effects of radiation

The Radiation-Induced Bystander Effect is the phenomenon in which unirradiated cells show irradiated effects due to the signals received from nearby irradiated cells. Evidence suggests that targeted cytoplasmic irradiation results in mutation in the nucleus of the hit cells. Cells that are not directly hit by an alpha particle, but are in the vicinity of one that is hit, also contribute to the genotoxic response of the cell population. When cells are irradiated, and the medium is transferred to unirradiated cells, these unirradiated cells show bystander responses when assayed for clonogenic survival and oncogenic transformation. The demonstration of a bystander effect in human tissues and, more recently, in whole organisms have clear implication of the potential relevance of the non-targeted response to human health. This effect may also contribute to the final biological consequences of exposure to low doses of radiation. The radiation-induced bystander effect represents a paradigm shift in our understanding of the radiobiological effects of ionizing radiation, in that extranuclear and extracellular events may also contribute to the final biological consequences of exposure to low doses of radiation. Multiple pathways are involved in the bystander phenomenon, and different cell types respond differently to bystander signalling. Using cDNA microarrays, a number of cellular signalling genes, including cyclooxygenase-2 (CQX-2), have been shown to be casually linked to the bystander phenomenon. The observation that inhibition of the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) suppressed the bystander response further confirmed the important role of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling cascade in the bystander process. The cells deficient in mitochondrial DNA showed a significantly reduced response to bystander signalling, suggesting a functional role of mitochondria in the signalling process. (author)