Abstract:
Objective To investigate differentially regulated genes after whole thoracic X-ray exposure and to explore the potential gene markers at transcriptome levels of radiation-induced lung injury (RILI) at transcriptome levels in mice.
Methods A total of 96 C57BL6 female mice aged 8 weeks were divided into three groups by single X-ray irradiation, namely. control group (no irradiation), medium dose group (MD group, 10 Gy single irradiation), and high dose group (HD group, 20 Gy single irradiation). Whole thoracic X-ray irradiation was delivered to the remaining 60 mice with a wide range of doses and fractionations. Whole genome expression chips were used in the detection of RNA in mouse lung tissues and gene expression data were converted by the R language software. Classical Bayesian test was used in exploring differentially expressed genes between groups. The expression levels of key genes were validated and mathematically analyzed, and gene ontology biological function enrichment analysis was performed. The correlation degree between two groups with independent data was analyzed by regression model (correlation coefficient is R2).
Results According to medium vs. high dose irradiations, the differentially regulated genes(539 genes) were selected. Then, the top five most significant genes were identified, namely, Phlda3, Fgg, Kng1 (up-regulated genes) and Ptprb, Kit (down-regulated genes). Dose escalation studies confirmed that the transcriptional status of the five gene signatures correlated well with radiation doses. The expression levels of the three up-regulated genes increased with the boost of X-ray dose (logistic regression model χ2=11.66, R2=0.88); whereas the expression levels of the two down-regulated genes decreased with the boost in X-ray dose (linear regression R=−0.95, R2=0.89). Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that up-regulated genes were associated with p53 signaling and innate immune response; whereas the down-regulated genes were enriched in biological processes, such as cell metabolism and lung development.
Conclusions Up-regulated genes Phlda3, Fgg, Kng1, as well as the down-regulated genes, Ptprb and Kit, can be used as potential genetic markers to indicate the severity of RILI. This finding sheds light on the mechanism involved in the radiation protection evidenced by mRNA biomarkers.