Ionizing radiation is used successfully in cancer treatment to kill tumor cells. Over the past two decades, it has become increasingly evident that the effectiveness of treatment may be enhanced if radiation is combined with measures to rejuvenate the immune system. In this context, new research by biologists from TU Darmstadt and the GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research as well as researchers from the universities of Frankfurt and Homburg universities is attracting attention.
Researchers report in the Journal of General Physiology that the stimulus-induced effect on the immune system is directly mediated when T-cells are also exposed to x-rays. Dominique Tandl, a researcher at the Department of Biological Sciences at TU Darmstadt, and his co-authors point out in a recently published study that appropriate clinical doses of x-rays on T lymphocytes create a normal flow of signal that triggers the release of messenger substance calcium (Ca2 +) in interior stores.
Trigged by what is known as the Ca2 + entry (SOCE) used in the store), the overcrowding of Ca2 + cells begins to shift the critical frequency, which in turn leads to the removal (transfer) of the transcription factor from the cytoplasm into the cell nucleus. . When it arrives, the transcription factor begins to exhibit genetic expression, and the cell begins to form vital molecules that respond to antibodies, such as cytokines. Since tumor inflammation always affects blood cells in the target tissue, the drug may apply a stimulating x-ray effect to T lymphocytes.
Researchers hope their studies will contribute to the development of long-term cancer treatment, as Professor Gerhard Thiel, head of the Membrane Biophysics Group at the Department of Biology at TU Darmstadt and co-author of the study, says. “It is possible to improve the lethal effect of ionizing radiation on tumor cells and at the same time rejuvenate the immune system with the help of these radiations.”
Source Journal Reference: Dominique Tandl, Tim Sponagel, Dalia Alansary, Sebastian Fuck, Timo Smit, Stephanie Hehlgans, Burkhard Jakob, Claudia Fournier, Barbara A. Niemeyer, Franz Rödel, Bastian Roth, Anna Moroni, Gerhard Thiel. X-ray irradiation triggers immune response in human T-lymphocytes via store-operated Ca2+ entry and NFAT activation. Journal of General Physiology, 2022; 154 (5) DOI: 10.1085/jgp.202112865
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