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Edaravone protects human peripheral blood lymphocytes from γ-irradiation-induced apoptosis and DNA damage

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Cell Stress and Chaperones Aims and scope

Abstract

Radiation-induced cellular injury is attributed primarily to the harmful effects of free radicals, which play a key role in irradiation-induced apoptosis. In this study, we investigated the radioprotective efficacy of edaravone, a licensed clinical drug and a powerful free radical scavenger that has been tested against γ-irradiation-induced cellular damage in cultured human peripheral blood lymphocytes in studies of various diseases. Edaravone was pre-incubated with lymphocytes for 2 h prior to γ-irradiation. It was found that pretreatment with edaravone increased cell viability and inhibited generation of γ-radiation-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) in lymphocytes exposed to 3 Gy γ-radiation. In addition, γ-radiation decreased antioxidant enzymatic activity, such as superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, as well as the level of reduced glutathione. Conversely, treatment with 100 μM edaravone prior to irradiation improved antioxidant enzyme activity and increased reduced glutathione levels in irradiated lymphocytes. Importantly, we also report that edaravone reduced γ-irradiation-induced apoptosis through downregulation of Bax, upregulation of Bcl-2, and consequent reduction of the Bax:Bcl-2 ratio. The current study shows edaravone to be an effective radioprotector against γ-irradiation-induced cellular damage in lymphocytes in vitro. Finally, edaravone pretreatment significantly reduced DNA damage in γ-irradiated lymphocytes, as measured by comet assay (% tail DNA, tail length, tail moment, and olive tail moment) (p < 0.05). Thus, the current study indicates that edaravone offers protection from radiation-induced cytogenetic alterations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hematology, Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital, No.20, Yuhuangding East Road, Yantai, Shandong Province, 264000, People’s Republic of China

    Liming Chen, Yinghui Liu & Xiaoxia Chu

  2. Department of Oncology, Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital, No.20, Yuhuangding East Road, Yantai, Shandong Province, 264000, People’s Republic of China

    Liangliang Dong

Authors
  1. Liming Chen
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  2. Yinghui Liu
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  3. Liangliang Dong
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  4. Xiaoxia Chu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiaoxia Chu.

Additional information

L. Chen, Y. Liu, and L. Dong are co-first authors who contributed equally to this work.

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Chen, L., Liu, Y., Dong, L. et al. Edaravone protects human peripheral blood lymphocytes from γ-irradiation-induced apoptosis and DNA damage. Cell Stress and Chaperones 20, 289–295 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12192-014-0542-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12192-014-0542-3

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