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Publication : 17/09/2020

Description: Radiotherapy is one of the main treatments for solid tumors. Severe late radiation-induced toxicity of the surrounding normal tissues occurs in 5% to 10% of patients following radiotherapy. The radiation-induced lymphocyte apoptosis assay developed to predict late radiation-induced toxicity in patients has demonstrated to be significantly associated with toxicities. However, the molecular mechanism explaining the link between the lymphocyte apoptosis rate and the development of late toxicity is still unknown. It is well established that the acid sphingomyelinase/ceramide pathway is involved in radiation-induced apoptosis, more particularly in endothelial cells. We have started to look at this pathway in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in cancer patients. We observed ceramide expression in response to radiation in patients’ samples and we were able to identify an increase in acid sphingomyelinase activity at 8 Gy. This project proposes to study the ceramide pathways in PBMC responsiveness to ionizing radiation in cancer patients and the consequences on apoptosis, ROS and inflammation.

The goal of this project is to have a better understanding on the correlation between radiation-induced late toxicity and apoptosis and to help improve the life quality of the patients.

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