title: Endothelial perturbations and therapeutic strategies in normal tissue radiation damage.
abstract: Most cancer patients are treated with radiotherapy, but the treatment can also damage the surrounding normal tissue. Radiotherapy side-effects diminish patients' quality of life, yet effective biological interventions for normal tissue damage are lacking. Protecting microvascular endothelial cells from the effects of irradiation is emerging as a targeted damage-reduction strategy. We illustrate the concept of the microvasculature as a mediator of overall normal tissue radiation toxicity through cell death, vascular inflammation (hemodynamic and molecular changes) and a change in functional capacity. Endothelial cell targeted therapies that protect against such endothelial cell perturbations and the development of acute normal tissue damage are mostly under preclinical development. Since acute radiation toxicity is a common clinical problem in cutaneous, gastrointestinal and mucosal tissues, we also focus on damage in these tissues.
authors.affiliation: Biological Sciences, Sunnybrook Research Institute and Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Ave., Toronto, M4N 3M5, Canada. elina.korpela@mail.utoronto.ca.|Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, 101 College St., Toronto, M5G 1L7, Canada. elina.korpela@mail.utoronto.ca.
authors.forename: Elina
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Korpela
authors.affiliation: Biological Sciences, Sunnybrook Research Institute and Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Ave., Toronto, M4N 3M5, Canada. stanley.liu@sunnybrook.ca.|Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, 101 College St., Toronto, M5G 1L7, Canada. stanley.liu@sunnybrook.ca.|Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, 149 College St., Toronto, M5T 1P5, Canada. stanley.liu@sunnybrook.ca.
authors.forename: Stanley K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects*; D006801:Humans; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents