Irradiation affects the structural, cellular and molecular components of jawbones

Abstract

Purpose

Emerging evidence shows that changes in the bone and its microenvironment following radiotherapy are associated with either an inhibition or a state of low bone formation. Ionizing radiation is damaging to the jawbone as it increases the complication rate due to the development of hypovascular, hypocellular, and hypoxic tissue. This review summarizes and correlates the current knowledge on the effects of irradiation on the bone with an emphasis on jawbone, as these have been a less extensively studied area.

Conclusions

The stringent regulation of bone formation and bone resorption can be influenced by radiation, causing detrimental effects at structural, cellular, vascular, and molecular levels. It is also associated with a high risk of damage to surrounding healthy tissues and an increased risk of fracture. Technological advances and research on animal models as well as a few human bone tissue studies have provided novel insights into the ways in which bone can be affected by high, low and sublethal dose of radiation. The influence of radiation on bone metabolism, cellular properties, vascularity, collagen, and other factors like inflammation, reactive oxygen species are discussed.

Keywords:

• Bone
• ionizing radiation
• inflammation
• molecular biology
• microenvironment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sridhar Reddy Padala

Sridhar Reddy Padala, MDS, (Ph.D. student), is a researcher at the Institute of Dentistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.

Bina Kashyap

Bina Kashyap, MDS, (Ph.D. student), is a researcher at the Institute of Dentistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.

Hannah Dekker

Hannah Dekker, DDS, MD, (Ph.D. student), is presently a researcher at Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery/ Oral Pathology, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Jopi J. W. Mikkonen

Jopi J. W Mikkonen, MSc, Ph.D., is a researcher at the Institute of Dentistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.

Anni Palander

Anni Palander, Ph.D., is a researcher at the Institute of Dentistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.

Nathalie Bravenboer

Nathalie Bravenboer, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at the Department of Clinical Chemistry, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and at the Department of Internal Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Division of Endocrinology and Center for Bone Quality, Leiden, the Netherlands.

Arja M. Kullaa

Arja M. Kullaa, DDS, Ph.D., is a Professor emerita at the Institute of Dentistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland. Her research focuses on the diagnostics of oral mucosal diseases. She has authored two scientific books and more than 100 journal articles and conference proceedings.