title: Vitronectin improves cell survival after radiation injury in human umbilical vein endothelial cells.
abstract: Vitronectin (VN) is a multi-functional protein involved in extracellular matrix (ECM)-cell binding through integrin receptors on the cell surface, which is an important environmental process for maintaining biological homeostasis. We investigated how VN affects the survival of endothelial cells after radiation damage. VN attenuated radiation-induced expression of p21, an inhibitor of cell cycle progression, and selectively inhibited Erk- and p38 MAPK-dependent p21 induction after radiation exposure through regulation of the activity of GSK-3β. VN also reduced the cleavage of caspase-3, thereby inhibiting radiation-induced apoptotic cell death. These results suggest that VN has important roles in cell survival after radiation damage.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Radiation Emergency Medicine, National Institute of Radiological Science, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage, Chiba 263-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaharu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hazawa
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yasuda
authors.forename: Katsuko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Noshiro
authors.forename: Ai
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saotome-Nakamura
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukuzaki
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Michikawa
authors.forename: Takaya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gotoh
authors.forename: Katsushi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tajima
keywords: Integrin; MAPK; Radiation; Vitronectin; p21