title: Genoprotective properties of astaxanthin revealed by ionizing radiation exposure in vitro on human peripheral blood lymphocytes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to identify possible radioprotective properties of astaxanthin by means of cytogenetic criteria.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cultivation of peripheral blood lymphocytes from five apparently healthy volunteers; treatment of lym phocytes' cultures by astaxanthin in final concentrations 20 μg/ml in Go phase of mitotic cycle, prior to ? irradia tion in vitro in a dose 1 Gy; cytogenetic analysis the uniformly stained slides of metaphase chromosomes. The elec trophoresis of individual cells (Comet assay); visualization of results under fluorescent microscope; accounting the number of nucleoid the fourth grade that correspond to apoptosis of the cells.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Established that astaxanthin in final concentration 20.0 μg/ml exposed to the culture of human peripher al blood lymphocytes in the early G0 phase of mitotic cycle leads to significant reduction of cytogenetic effects induced by gamma irradiation in vitro in dose 1.0 Gy (from 26.05 ± 1.81 to 9.08 ± 0.78 per 100 cells, respectively) and to significant increase the frequency of apoptotic cells at the 48 hour of cultivation (from (3.78 ± 0.24) to (8.26 ± 0.91) %, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results obtained show the ability of astaxanthin to considerable weakening of radioinduced muta genic effect in human peripheral blood lymphocytes, which testify its powerful radioprotective potential.
authors.affiliation: State Institution National Research Center for Radiation Medicine of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, Melnykov str., 53, Kyiv, 04050, Ukraine.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pilinska
authors.affiliation: State Institution National Research Center for Radiation Medicine of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, Melnykov str., 53, Kyiv, 04050, Ukraine.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Кurinnyi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biology of Taras Shevchenko National University, Volodymyrska str., 64/13, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine.
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Rushkovsky
authors.affiliation: State Institution National Research Center for Radiation Medicine of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, Melnykov str., 53, Kyiv, 04050, Ukraine.
authors.forename: O B
authors.initials: OB
authors.lastname: Dybska
mesh_terms: D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes; D011839:Radiation, Ionizing; D024341:Xanthophylls
chemical_list: D024341:Xanthophylls; C005948:astaxanthine
keywords: apoptosis; astaxanthin; chromosome aberrations; culture of human peripheral blood lymphocytes; radioprotective effect