Radiation-induced neuroinflammation monitoring by the level of peripheral blood monocytes with high expression of translocator protein

Abstract

Purpose

Currently there are no effective diagnostic methods for the control of neuroinflammation before manifestation of cognitive impairment after head irradiation. The translocator protein (TSPO) is highly expressed in glial cells upon brain damage, therefore we compared the changes in the number of cells with high TSPO expression in the brain and peripheral blood during radiation-induced neuroinflammation.

Materials and methods

Hippocampal cytokines mRNA expression and the content of cells with high TSPO expression in the brain and peripheral blood monocytes were analyzed up to eight months after mice head γ-irradiation at a dose of 2 Gy or 8Gy.

Results

Mice irradiation at a dose of 8 Gy causes neuroinflammation, accompanied by an increase of M1 microglia and TSPO^high cells in the brain, elevated gene expression of pro-inflammatory and decreased of anti-inflammatory cytokines along with an increased number of microglia and astrocytes in the hippocampus. The content of TSPO^high cells in the brain correlates with the level TSPO^high monocytes in three days, one month and two months after exposure.

Conclusions

An increase in the level of the monocytes with high expression of TSPO may be considered as a marker for an early diagnostics of post-radiation brain damage leading to cognitive impairment.

Keywords:

• Microglia
• monocytes
• neuroinflammation
• TSPO
• irradiation

Acknowledgements

This project was partially performed using the resource facilities at the National Research Center Kurchatov Institute.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Notes on contributors

Alla V. Rodina

Alla V. Rodina received PhD in biochemistry. She is head of the Department of Cell Biology, Immunology and Molecular Medicine in the Kurchatov Complex of NBICS Technologies, NRC ‘Kurchatov Institute’, Moscow, and is actually engaged in research and teaching. She is an Associate Professor at the Chair of Biological Chemistry, Sechenov University, Moscow, Russia. She has extensive experience in the cell biology.

Yulia P. Semochkina

Yuliya P. Semochkina received her Master degree from the Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow and a Bachelor degree from Moscow State Institute of Electronics and Mathematics. She is a researcher in the Resource Center for Molecular and Cell Biology ‘Molbiotech’ in the Kurchatov Complex of NBICS Technologies, NRC ‘Kurchatov Institute’, Moscow, Russia. She has a large experience in Flow Cytometry Analysis.

Olga V. Vysotskaya

Olga V. Vysotskaya is researcher at the Department of Cell Biology, Immunology and Molecular Medicine in the Kurchatov Complex of NBICS Technologies, NRC ‘Kurchatov Institute’, Moscow, Russia. She has a large experience in molecular biology.

Anna A. Parfenova

Аnna А. Parfenova has recently graduated from the Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow at the Chair of Biological Chemistry. She is working at the Department of Cell Biology, Immunology and Molecular Medicine in the Kurchatov Complex of NBICS Technologies, NRC ‘Kurchatov Institute’, Moscow, Russia.

Elizaveta Y. Moskaleva

Elizaveta Y. Moskaleva is Doctor of Biological Sciences, academic title professor, Deputy Head for Research of the Kurchatov Complex of NBICS Nature-Like Technologies. NRC ‘Kurchatov Institute’, Moscow, Russia. She has extensive experience in the radiation biology, as well as in the organization of research projects.