The sine qua non of the fish invitrome today and tomorrow in environmental radiobiology

Abstract

Fish cell lines, collectively referred to as the fish invitrome, are useful diagnostic tools to study radiation impacts on aquatic health and elucidate radiation mechanisms in fish. This paper will highlight the advantages, discuss the challenges, and propose possible future directions for uses of the fish invitrome in the field of environmental radiobiology. The fish invitrome contains at least 714 fish cell lines. However, only a few of these cell lines have been used to study radiation biology in fish and they represent only 10 fish species. The fish invitrome is clearly not yet explored for its full potential in radiation biology. Evidence suggests that they are useful and, in some cases, irreplaceable in making underlying theories and fundamental concepts in radiation responses in fish. The debate of whether environmental radiation is harmful, presents risks, has no effect on health, or is beneficial is on-going and is one that fish cell lines can help address in a time-effective fashion. Any information obtained with fish cell lines is useful in the framework of environment radiation risk assessments. Radiation threats to aquatic health will continue due to the very likely rise of nuclear energy and medicine in the future. The fish invitrome, in theory, lives forever and can meet new challenges at any given time to provide diagnostic risk analyses pertaining to aquatic health and environmental radiation protection.

Keywords:

• Invitrome
• cell line
• environmental radiation
• fish
• in vitro models

Disclosure statement

The author reports no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nguyen T. K. Vo

Nguyen (Nathan) T. K. Vo, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Biology at McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada). Nathan is working with Drs. Carmel Mothersill and Colin Seymour and is studying cellular and molecular mechanisms of low-dose radiation responses in humans and non-human biota. Nathan has previously held lecturing positions in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at McMaster University, the Departments of Health Sciences, Community Health, and Chemistry and Biochemistry at Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo and Brantford, Ontario, Canada).