title: Hormetic Response to Low-Dose Radiation: Focus on the Immune System and Its Clinical Implications.
abstract: The interrelationship between ionizing radiation and the immune system is complex, multifactorial, and dependent on radiation dose/quality and immune cell type. High-dose radiation usually results in immune suppression. On the contrary, low-dose radiation (LDR) modulates a variety of immune responses that have exhibited the properties of immune hormesis. Although the underlying molecular mechanism is not fully understood yet, LDR has been used clinically for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and malignant tumors. These advancements in preclinical and clinical studies suggest that LDR-mediated immune modulation is a well-orchestrated phenomenon with clinical potential. We summarize recent developments in the understanding of LDR-mediated immune modulation, with an emphasis on its potential clinical applications.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China. cuijw@jlu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jiuwei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China. ygz@jlu.edu.cn.|Department of Radiation-Oncology, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China. ygz@jlu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Guozi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation-Oncology, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China. pzy@jlu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Zhenyu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China. zhaoyuguang@jlu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yuguang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China. xyliang80@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Xinyue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China. liwei66@jlu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center, the First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China. L0cai001@louisville.edu.|The Pediatric Research Institute, the Departments of Pediatrics, Radiation Oncology, Pharmacology and Toxicology of the University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USA. L0cai001@louisville.edu.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D059165:Hormesis / Q000528:radiation effects*; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000528:radiation effects*; D008954:Models, Biological
keywords: autoimmune disease; cancer therapy; hormesis; immune stimulating; immune therapy; low-dose radiation