This is a genome-wide approach to identifying genes persistently induced in the mouse mammary gland by acute whole body low dose ionizing radiation (10cGy) 1 and 4 weeks after exposure. Gene expression that is modified under these parameters were compared between Tgfb1 wild type and heterozygote littermates in order to determine which genes induced or repressed by radiation were mediated via Tgfb1 status. Differential gene expression was analyzed in Tgfb1 heterozygote and wild type littermate 4th mammary glands after whole body exposure to an acute dose of 10cGy ionizing radiation. Estrus cycle was normalized in all mice two days prior to irradiation by injection with an estrogen and progesterone mixture. It is widely believed that the carcinogenic action of ionizing radiation is due to targeted DNA damage and resulting mutations but there is also substantial evidence that non-targeted radiation effects alter epithelial phenotype and the stromal microenvironment. Activation of transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFbeta) is a non-targeted radiation effect that mediates cell fate decisions following DNA damage and regulates microenvironment composition; it could either suppress or promote cancer. Gene expression profiling shown herein demonstrates that low dose radiation (10 cGy) elicits persistent changes in Tgfb1 wild type and heterozygote murine mammary gland that are highly modulated by TGFbeta. We asked if such non-targeted radiation effects contribute to carcinogenesis by using a novel radiation chimera model. Unirradiated Trp53 null mammary epithelium was transplanted to the mammary stroma of mice previously exposed to a single low (10 -100 cGy) radiation dose. By 300 days 100% of transplants in irradiated hosts at either 10 or 100 cGy had developed Trp53 null breast carcinomas compared to 54% in unirradiated hosts. Tumor growth rate was also increased by high but not low dose host irradiation. In contrast irradiation of Tgfb1 heterozygote mice prior to transplantation failed to decrease tumor latency or increase growth rate at any dose. Host irradiation significantly reduced the latency of invasive ductal carcinoma compared to spindle cell carcinoma as well as those tumors negative for smooth muscle actin in wild type but not Tgfb1 heterozygote mice. However irradiation of either host genotype significantly increased the frequency of estrogen receptor negative tumors. These data demonstrate two concepts critical to understanding radiation risks. First non-targeted radiation effects can significantly promote the frequency and alter the features of epithelial cancer. Second radiation-induced TGFbeta activity is a key mechanism of tumor promotion. Keywords: Differential gene expression after low dose irradiation Two genotypes: TGBbeta1 heterozygote and wildtype mouse mammary glands. Two time points post-10cGy-irradiation per genotype (1 week 4 weeks); control time point was 1 week post-sham-irradiation. Two or three replicates per time point.

Densely ionizing radiation is a major component of the space radiation environment and has potentially greater carcinogenic effect compared to sparsely ionizing radiation that is prevalent in the terrestrial environment. It is unknown to what extent the irradiated microenvironment contributes to the differential carcinogenic potential of densely ionizing radiation. To address this gap 10-week old BALB/c mice were irradiated with 100 cGy sparsely ionizing g-radiation or 10 30 or 80 cGy of densely ionizing 350 MeV/amu Si particles and transplanted 3 days later with syngeneic Trp53 null mammary fragments. Tumor appearance was monitored for 600 days. Tumors arising in Si-particle irradiated mice had a shorter median time to appearance grew faster and were more likely to metastasize. Most tumors arising in sham-irradiated mice were ER-positive pseudo-glandular and contained both basal keratin 14 and luminal keratin 8/18 cells (designated K14/18) while most tumors arising in irradiated hosts were K8/18 positive (designated K18) and ER negative. Comparison of K18 vs K14/18 tumor expression profiles showed that genes increased in K18 tumors were associated with ERBB2 and KRAS while decreased genes overlapped with those down regulated in metastasis and by loss of E-cadherin. Consistent with this K18 tumors grew faster than K14/18 tumors and more mice with K18 tumors developed lung metastases compared to mice with K14/18 tumors. However K18 tumors arising in Si-particle irradiated mice grew even faster and were more metastatic compared to control mice. A K18 Si-irradiated host profile was enriched in genes involved in mammary stem cells stroma and Notch signaling. Thus systemic responses to densely ionizing radiation enriches for a ER-negative K18-positive tumor whose biology is more aggressive compared to similar tumors arising in non-irradiated hosts. Key Words: ionizing radiation; breast cancer; heavy ion radiation;initiation; promotion 3 different dose of Si were used. Total RNA was extracted from mammary tumors derived from transplantations of non-irradiated p53null mammary fragments into irradiated hosts. We analyzed a total of 45 Trp53-null tumors: 18 from sham-irradiated hosts 9 from 10 cGy Si-irradiated hosts 10 from 30 cGy Si-irradiated hosts and 8 from irradiated hosts.

Densely ionizing radiation is a major component of the space radiation environment and has potentially greater carcinogenic effect compared to sparsely ionizing radiation that is prevalent in the terrestrial environment. It is unknown to what extent the irradiated microenvironment contributes to the differential carcinogenic potential of densely ionizing radiation. To address this gap 10-week old BALB/c mice were irradiated with 100 cGy sparsely ionizing g-radiation or 10 30 or 80 cGy of densely ionizing 350 MeV/amu Si particles and transplanted 3 days later with syngeneic Trp53 null mammary fragments. Tumor appearance was monitored for 600 days. Tumors arising in Si-particle irradiated mice had a shorter median time to appearance grew faster and were more likely to metastasize. Most tumors arising in sham-irradiated mice were ER-positive pseudo-glandular and contained both basal keratin 14 and luminal keratin 8/18 cells (designated K14/18) while most tumors arising in irradiated hosts were K8/18 positive (designated K18) and ER negative. Comparison of K18 vs K14/18 tumor expression profiles showed that genes increased in K18 tumors were associated with ERBB2 and KRAS while decreased genes overlapped with those down regulated in metastasis and by loss of E-cadherin. Consistent with this K18 tumors grew faster than K14/18 tumors and more mice with K18 tumors developed lung metastases compared to mice with K14/18 tumors. However K18 tumors arising in Si-particle irradiated mice grew even faster and were more metastatic compared to control mice. A K18 Si-irradiated host profile was enriched in genes involved in mammary stem cells stroma and Notch signaling. Thus systemic responses to densely ionizing radiation enriches for a ER-negative K18-positive tumor whose biology is more aggressive compared to similar tumors arising in non-irradiated hosts. Key Words: ionizing radiation; breast cancer; heavy ion radiation;initiation; promotion 3 different dose of Si were used. Total RNA was extracted from mammary tumors derived from transplantations of non-irradiated p53null mammary fragments into irradiated hosts. We analyzed a total of 45 Trp53-null tumors: 18 from sham-irradiated hosts 9 from 10 cGy Si-irradiated hosts 10 from 30 cGy Si-irradiated hosts and 8 from irradiated hosts.

Transcriptional profiling of mammary tissue irradiated at 10 weeks of age with either 100 cGy sparsely ionizing gamma-rays or 10 cGy or 30 cGy densely ionizing radiation (350 MeV/amu Si). Mammary tissue was collected 1 weeks 4 weeks and 12 weeks post-irradiation. Four radiation treatment groups: sham 100 cGy sparsely ionizing gamma-rays 10 cGy or 30 cGy densely ionizing radiation (350 MeV/amu Si). Three time points post-irradiation (1 4 and 12 weeks). Three or four replicates per time point.

To investigate DNA methylation patterns in rat mammary carcinomas induced by ionizing radiation. DNA methylation patterns were analyzed in radiation-induced rat mammary carcinomas and normal mammary gland tissues using CpG island microarray.

Age plays a major role in tumor incidence and is an important consideration when modeling the carcinogenesis process or estimating cancer risks. Epidemiological data show that from adolescence through middle age cancer incidence increases with age. This effect is commonly attributed to a lifetime accumulation of cellular particularly DNA damage. However during middle-age the incidence begins to decelerate and for many tumor sites it actually decreases at sufficiently advanced ages. We investigated if the observed deceleration and potential decrease in incidence could be attributed to a decreased capacity of older hosts to support tumor progression and whether HZE (high atomic number (Z) high energy (E)) radiation differentially modulates tumor progression in young versus middle-age hosts issues relevant to estimating carcinogenesis risk for astronauts. Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells were injected into syngeneic mice (143 and 551 days old) which were then subject to whole-body 56Fe irradiation (1GeV/amu). Three findings emerged: 1) among unirradiated animals substantial inhibition of tumor progression and significantly decreased tumor growth rates were seen for middle-aged mice compared to young mice; 2) whole-body 56Fe irradiation (1GeV/amu) inhibited tumor progression in both young and in middle-aged mice (with greater suppression seen in case of young animals) with little effect on tumor growth rates; and 3) 56Fe irradiation (1GeV/amu) suppressed tumor progression in young mice to a degree not significantly different than transiting from young to middle-aged. Thus 56Fe irradiation (1GeV/amu) acted similar to aging with respect to tumor progression. We further investigated the molecular underpinnings driving the radiation modulation of tumor dynamics in young and middle-aged mice. Through global gene expression analysis the key players FASN AKT1 and the CXCL12/CXCR4 complex were determined to be contributory. In sum these findings demonstrate a reduced capacity of middle-aged hosts to support the progression phase of carcinogenesis and identify molecular factors contributory to HZE radiation modulation of tumor progression as a function of age. For genome-wide expression profiling of tumor tissue Mouse WG-6 BeadArray chips (Illumina San Diego CA) were used. Total RNA was amplified with the Ambion Illumina TotalPrep Amplification Kit (Ambion Austin TX) and labeled from all replicate biological samples for each condition. The number of tumor sample replicates used from each condition is as follows: 10 samples from young unirradiated mice 8 samples from young irradiated mice 7 samples from middle-aged unirradiated mice 5 samples from middle-aged irradiated mice. Total RNA was isolated and purified using Trizol (Invitrogen) or RNeasy (Qiagen) quantified and qualified using Agilent Bioanalyzer (Agilent) and samples were deemed suitable for amplification and hybridization if they had O.D. 260/280 = 1.7 - 2.1 28s/18s = 2:1 RIN (RNA integrity number) >7. Total RNA of 500ng per sample was amplified using Ambion TotalPrep (Ambion) and 1.5ug of the product was loaded onto the chips. Following hybridization at 55C the chips were washed and then scanned using the Illumina iScan (Illumina) and the data were analyzed using GenomeStudio (Illumina). Data were first analyzed for gene expression and then culled for present genes (genes that meet the criteria of detection p-value < 0.05). Expression above background was included in an expressed genes working data set for further analyses. Rank variant normalization was applied to the data before extensive analysis. Differential gene expression analysis was used to compare to the reference group young unirradiated mice and genes were then evaluated and validated.

To determine how host irradiation affects tumor profiles in 10 month aged mice treated with HZE or gamma irradiation.

One of the most likely risks astronauts on long duration space missions face is exposure to ionizing radiation associated with highly energetic and charged heavy (HZE) particles. Since access to medical expertise on such a mission is limited at best early diagnosis and mitigation of such exposure is critical. In order to accurately determine the dosage within 1 hour post-exposure dose-dependent biomarkers are needed. Therefore we performed a dose-course transcriptional analysis for radiation exposure at 0 0.3 1.5 and 3.0 Gy with corresponding time point at 1 hour (hr) post-exposure using Affymetrix GeneChip Human Gene 1.0 ST v1 Array chips. The analysis of our data suggests a set of sensitive genetic biomarkers specific to each radiation level as well as generic radiation response biomarkers. Upregulated biomarkers can then be used within lab-on-a-chip (LOC) systems to detect exposure to ionizing radiation. A total of sixteen human samples representing radiation exposure at levels 0 Gy 0.3 Gy 1.5 Gy and 3.0 Gy at time point 1 hour (hr) post-exposure were constructed. Blood samples were extracted from four human volunteers and were irradiated. Leukocytes were extracted and gene expression was measured. Samples for all four volunteers were measured at 1 hr for all four dose levels resulting in four replicates at each dose level. Thus a total of 4 samples at each of the four radiation levels were sampled yielding the total of 16 samples.

One of the most likely risks astronauts on long duration space missions face is exposure to ionizing radiation associated with highly energetic and charged heavy (HZE) particles. Since access to medical expertise on such a mission is limited at best early diagnosis and mitigation of such exposure is critical. In order to accurately determine the dosage within 1 hour post-exposure dose-dependent biomarkers are needed. Therefore we performed a dose-course transcriptional analysis for radiation exposure at 0 0.3 1.5 and 3.0 Gy with corresponding time point at 1 hour (hr) post-exposure using Affymetrix GeneChip Human Gene 1.0 ST v1 Array chips. The analysis of our data suggests a set of sensitive genetic biomarkers specific to each radiation level as well as generic radiation response biomarkers. Upregulated biomarkers can then be used within lab-on-a-chip (LOC) systems to detect exposure to ionizing radiation. A total of sixteen human samples representing radiation exposure at levels 0 Gy 0.3 Gy 1.5 Gy and 3.0 Gy at time point 1 hour (hr) post-exposure were constructed. Blood samples were extracted from four human volunteers and were irradiated. Leukocytes were extracted and gene expression was measured. Samples for all four volunteers were measured at 1 hr for all four dose levels resulting in four replicates at each dose level. Thus a total of 4 samples at each of the four radiation levels were sampled yielding the total of 16 samples.

Here we present a whole-genome survey of the murine transcriptomic response to physiologically-relevant radiation doses 2 and 8 Gy. There are 18 distinct biological samples here. Mice were exposed to ionizing radiation (Cesium-138 source) and whole blood was collected by cardiac puncture 6 hours post treatment. Doses were 0 (7 samples) 2 (5 samples) and 8 (6 samples) gy.