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Low-radiation environment affects the development of protection mechanisms in V79 cells

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Abstract

Very little is known about the influence of environmental radiation on living matter. In principle, important information can be acquired by analysing possible differences between parallel biological systems, one in a reference-radiation environment (RRE) and the other in a low-radiation environment (LRE). We took advantage of the unique opportunity represented by the cell culture facilities at the Gran Sasso National Laboratories of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, where environment dose rate reduction factors in the underground (LRE), with respect to the external laboratory (RRE), are as follows: 103 for neutrons, 107 for directly ionizing cosmic rays and 10 for total γ-rays. Chinese hamster V79 cells were cultured for 10 months in both RRE and LRE. At the end of this period, all the cultures were kept in RRE for another 6 months. Changes in the activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, SOD; catalase, CAT; glutathione peroxidase, GPX) and spontaneous mutation frequency at the hypoxanthine–guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (hprt) locus were investigated. The results obtained suggest that environmental radiation might act as a trigger of defence mechanisms in V79 cells, specifically those in reference conditions, showing a higher degree of defence against endogenous damage as compared to cells grown in a very low-radiation environment. Our findings corroborate the hypothesis that environmental radiation contributes to the development of defence mechanisms in today living organisms/systems.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Eng. M. Balata and Dr. L. Ioannucci for their contribution to the logistics of the experiment at INFN-LNGS. Thanks are also due to F. Antonelli, Ph.D., for her help with cell culture, to M. Pinto, Ph.D., for the 222Rn and daughters dose calculation, to Dr. C. Nuccetelli for the measurements of 40K inside the cells and to Mr. A. Calicchia for the TLD measurements. Thanks are also due to Mr. M. Sabatini for figures preparation and to Ms M. Brocco for the English editing of the manuscript. We gratefully acknowledge Prof. P. Paggi for the discussions and suggestions during the writing of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche “Enrico Fermi”, Piazza del Viminale 1, 00184, Rome, Italy

    E. Fratini, C. Carbone, D. Capece, G. Simone, M. A. Tabocchini & L. Satta

  2. Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), Rome, Italy

    E. Fratini, G. Esposito, M. A. Tabocchini & M. Tomasi

  3. INFN Roma1 Gr, coll. Sanità, Rome, Italy

    G. Esposito, G. Simone, M. A. Tabocchini & M. Belli

  4. Frascati National Laboratory, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Frascati, Italy

    L. Satta

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  1. E. Fratini
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  2. C. Carbone
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  3. D. Capece
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  4. G. Esposito
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  5. G. Simone
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  6. M. A. Tabocchini
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  8. M. Belli
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  9. L. Satta
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Correspondence to L. Satta.

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Fratini, E., Carbone, C., Capece, D. et al. Low-radiation environment affects the development of protection mechanisms in V79 cells. Radiat Environ Biophys 54, 183–194 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00411-015-0587-4

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