title: Cellular and molecular effects of protons: apoptosis induction and potential implications for cancer therapy.
abstract: Due to their ballistic precision, apoptosis induction by protons could be a strategy to specifically eliminate neoplastic cells. To characterize the cellular and molecular effects of these hadrons, we performed dose-response and time-course experiments by exposing different cell lines (PC3, Ca301D, MCF7) to increasing doses of protons and examining them with FACS, RT-PCR, and electron spin resonance (ESR). Irradiation with a dose of 10 Gy of a 26,7 Mev proton beam altered cell structures such as membranes, caused DNA double strand breaks, and significantly increased intracellular levels of hydroxyl ions, are active oxygen species (ROS). This modified the transcriptome of irradiated cells, activated the mitochondrial (intrinsic) pathway of apoptosis, and resulted in cycle arrest at the G2/M boundary. The number of necrotic cells within the irradiated cell population did not significantly increase with respect to the controls. The effects of irradiation with 20 Gy were qualitatively as well as quantitatively similar, but exposure to 40 Gy caused massive necrosis. Similar experiments with photons demonstrated that they induce apoptosis in a significantly lower number of cells and in a temporally delayed manner. These data advance our knowledge on the cellular and molecular effects of proton irradiation and could be useful for improving current hadrontherapy protocols.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Sezione di Biologia, Genetica e Bioinformatica, Università di Catania, Catania, 95123, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Di Pietro
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Piro
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tabbì
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ragusa
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Di Pietro
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Zimmitti
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cuda
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Anello
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Consoli
authors.forename: E T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Salinaro
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caruso
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vancheri
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Crimi
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Sabini
authors.forename: G A P
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Cirrone
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Raffaele
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Privitera
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pulvirenti
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Giugno
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferro
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cuttone
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lo Nigro
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Purrello
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Purrello
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Purrello
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000528:radiation effects*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000528:radiation effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004249:DNA Damage; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004578:Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009336:Necrosis; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D017785:Photons / Q000627:therapeutic use; D061766:Proton Therapy; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species