title: Effects of barley β-glucan on radiation damage in the human hepatoma cell line HepG2.
abstract: Damage to normal tissue is an obstacle to radiotherapy of cancer. We have tested whether barley β-glucan can enhance radioprotection in the human hepatoma cell line HepG2. The cytotoxicity of β-glucan was determined by the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. A clonogenic assay was used to study the sensitivity of cells to β-glucan, ionizing radiation (2-8Gy), and the combination of both treatments. Acridine Orange/ethidium bromide staining was used to examine induction of apoptosis by β-glucan, radiation (6Gy), and the combination. DNA strand breaks were assessed by the comet assay. The MTT assay showed that treatment with β-glucan was not cytotoxic. Indeed, a slight increase in cell viability was observed. Pre-treatment with β-glucan, 1μg/ml, for 72h protected HepG2 cells against radiation, as indicated by increased surviving fraction, reduced apoptosis, and fewer DNA strand breaks. These results show that barley β-glucan is a radioprotective agent.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Laleh
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ghavami
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: goliaei@ibb.ut.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Bahram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Goliaei
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Bita
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Taghizadeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiobiology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nikoofar
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D053960:DNA Breaks / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000528:radiation effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D001467:Hordeum / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014965:X-Rays / Q000009:adverse effects; D047071:beta-Glucans / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents; D047071:beta-Glucans
keywords: Apoptosis; Comet assay; DNA damages; HepG2; Radio-protection; β-Glucan