Vascular Injury After Whole Thoracic X-Ray Irradiation in the Rat
- Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (United States)
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI (United States)
Purpose: To study vascular injury after whole thoracic irradiation with single sublethal doses of X-rays in the rat and to develop markers that might predict the severity of injury. Methods and Materials: Rats that received 5- or 10-Gy thorax-only irradiation and age-matched controls were studied at 3 days, 2 weeks, and 1, 2, 5, and 12 months. Several pulmonary vascular parameters were evaluated, including hemodynamics, vessel density, total lung angiotensin-converting enzyme activity, and right ventricular hypertrophy. Results: By 1 month, the rats in the 10-Gy group had pulmonary vascular dropout, right ventricular hypertrophy, increased pulmonary vascular resistance, increased dry lung weights, and decreases in total lung angiotensin-converting enzyme activity, as well as pulmonary artery distensibility. In contrast, irradiation with 5 Gy resulted in only a modest increase in right ventricular weight and a reduction in lung angiotensin-converting enzyme activity. Conclusion: In a previous investigation using the same model, we observed that recovery from radiation-induced attenuation of pulmonary vascular reactivity occurred. In the present study, we report that deterioration results in several vascular parameters for {<=}1 year after 10 Gy, suggesting sustained remodeling of the pulmonary vasculature. Our data support clinically relevant injuries that appear in a time- and dose-related manner after exposure to relatively low radiation doses.
- OSTI ID:
- 21276790
- Journal Information:
- International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics, Vol. 74, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2009.01.006; PII: S0360-3016(09)00080-7; Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0360-3016
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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