Protontherapy is hadrontherapy’s fastest-growing modality and a pillar in the battle against cancer. Hadrontherapy’s superiority lies in its inverted depth-dose profile, hence tumour-confined irradiation. Protons, however, lack distinct radiobiological advantages over photons or electrons. Higher LET (Linear Energy Transfer) 12C-ions can overcome cancer radioresistance: DNA lesion complexity increases with LET, resulting in efficient cell killing, i.e. higher Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE). However, economic and radiobiological issues hamper 12C-ion clinical amenability. Thus, enhancing proton RBE is desirable. To this end, we exploited the p + 11B → 3α reaction to generate high-LET alpha particles with a clinical proton beam. To maximize the reaction rate, we used sodium borocaptate (BSH) with natural boron content. Boron-Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) uses 10B-enriched BSH for neutron irradiation-triggered alpha particles. We recorded significantly increased cellular lethality and chromosome aberration complexity. A strategy combining protontherapy’s ballistic precision with the higher RBE promised by BNCT and 12C-ion therapy is thus demonstrated.

<p>The ability of parabens to promote the appearance of multiple cancer hallmarks in breast epithelium cells provides grounds for regulatory review of the implication of the presence of parabens in human breast tissue. It is well documented that telomere dysfunction plays a significant role in the initiation of genomic instability during carcinogenesis in human breast cancer. In the present study, we evaluated the genotoxic effect of ethyl 4-hydroxybenzoate (ethyl-paraben), with and without metabolic activation (S9), in studies following OECD guidelines. We observed a significant increase in genotoxic damage using the Mouse Lymphoma Assay and in vitro micronucleus (MN) tests in the L5178Y cell line in the presence of S9 only after a short exposure. A high frequency of MN was observed in the TK6 cells after a short exposure (3 h) in the presence of S9 and a long exposure (26 h) without S9. We found significant increases in the MN frequency and induced chromosomal aberrations in the lymphocytes of only one donor after ethyl-paraben exposure in the presence of S9 after a short exposure. Cytogenetic characterization of the paraben-treated cells demonstrated telomere shortening associated with telomere loss and telomere deletions in L5178Y and TK6 cells and lymphocytes of the paraben sensitive-donor. In a control cohort of 68 human lymphocytes, telomere length and telomere aberrations were age-dependent and showed high inter-individual variation. This study is the first to link telomere shortening and the genotoxic effect of ethyl paraben in the presence of S9 and raises the possibility that telomere shortening may be a proxy for underlying inter-individual sensitivity to ethyl-paraben. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.</p>

Digital object identifier (DOI): 10.1002/jat.3425

We recently reported an increase in dicentric chromosome (DIC) formation after a single computed tomography (CT) scan (5.78-60.27 mSv: mean 24.24 mSv) and we recommended analysis of 2000 metaphase cells stained with Giemsa and centromere-FISH for dicentric chromosome assay (DCA) in cases of low-dose radiation exposure. In the present study, we analyzed the frequency of chromosome translocations using stored Carnoy's-fixed lymphocyte specimens from the previous study; these specimens were from 12 patients who were subject to chromosome painting of Chromosomes 1, 2 and 4. Chromosomes 1, 2 and 4 were analyzed in ∼5000 cells, which is equivalent to the whole-genome analysis of almost 2000 cells. The frequency of chromosome translocation was higher than the number of DICs formed, both before and after CT scanning. The frequency of chromosome translocations tended to be higher, but not significantly higher, in patients with a treatment history compared with patients without such a history. However, in contrast to the results for DIC formation, the frequency of translocations detected before and after the CT scan did not differ significantly. Therefore, analysis of chromosome translocation may not be a suitable assay for detecting chromosome aberrations in cases of low-dose radiation exposure from a CT scan. A significant increase in the frequency of chromosome translocations was not likely to be detected due to the high baseline before the CT scan; the high and variable frequency of translocations was probably due to multiple confounding factors in adults.

Digital object identifier (DOI): 10.1093/jrr/rrv090

In general, it was assumed that the chromosome aberration induced by ionizing radiation is proportional to the chromosome size. From this viewpoint, the higher chromosome size, the more resistant to radiation. However, different opinions, in which chromosomes are particularly sensitive or resistant to radiation, are also still followed until now. Here in this research, we compared the chromosome sensitivity between chromosomes number 1, 2, and 4 using the FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization) technique. From this research, we expect that the information obtained could show clearly whether a longer chromosome is more frequently involved in translocations and also more resistant to radiation than a shorter one. The type of chromosome aberration considered was limited only to translocation and we used one sample donor in order to avoid donor variability. The whole blood from a healthy female was irradiated with γ-rays with doses of 1, 3 and 5 Gy, respectively. Isolated lymphocytes from the whole blood were then cultured for 48 hours. After the culture process was completed, preparations of harvest and metaphase chromosomes were carried out. Chromosomes 1, 2, and 4 were stained with different fluorochromes. The translocation of each chromosome at each dose point was subsequently evaluated from 50 images obtained from an automated metaphase finder and capturing system. An additional analysis was performed to identify which chromosome arm was more frequently involved in translocation. Further analyses were also conducted with the aim of determining which chromosome band had a higher frequency of radiation-induced breakage. The experimental results showed that chromosome number 4 was more frequently involved in translocations compared to chromosomes 1 and 2 at 5 Gy. In contrast, at doses of 1 and 3 Gy translocations involving chromosomes number 1 and 2 were more numerous compared to the ones involving chromosome 4. However, if the number of translocation was accumulated for all the doses applied, the chromosome number 4 was the chromosome most frequently involved in translocations. Breakpoint analysis revealed that in chromosome 1, chromosome 2, and chromosome 4, the highest chromosome bands as break position were in band q32, p13, and q21, respectively. It can be concluded that chromosome 4 is more sensitive to radiation in all doses point, despite having less DNA content than chromosomes 1 and 2. Thus, it was showed that our research cannot support the general assumption about chromosome aberration induced by radiation being proportional to DNA content.

Telomeres are specific structures that protect chromosome ends and act as a biological clock, preventing normal cells from replicating indefinitely. Mammalian telomeres are replicated throughout S-phase in a predetermined order. However, the mechanism of this regulation is still unknown. We wished to investigate this phenomenon under physiological conditions in a changing environment, such as the immortalization process to better understand the mechanism for its control. We thus examined the timing of human telomere replication in normal and SV40 immortalized cells, which are cytogenetically very similar to cancer cells. We found that the timing of telomere replication was globally conserved under different conditions during the immortalization process. The timing of telomere replication was conserved despite changes in telomere length due to endogenous telomerase reactivation, in duplicated homologous chromosomes, and in rearranged chromosomes. Importantly, translocated telomeres, possessing their initial subtelomere, retained the replication timing of their homolog, independently of the proportion of the translocated arm, even when the remaining flanking DNA is restricted to its subtelomere, the closest chromosome-specific sequences (inferior to 500 kb). Our observations support the notion that subtelomere regions strongly influence the replication timing of the associated telomere.

Digital object identifier (DOI): 10.1038/srep32510