Sensitivity of Adipose Tissue-Derived Stem Cells in Response to Ionizing Radiation in the Context of Osteoblastic Differentiation

Abstract

Humans travelling in space are exposed to a constant threat from ionizing radiation from both solar- and cosmic sources. These irradiations pose a threat to cells in various tissues of the human body. One example for this is bone tissue where the sensible balance of bone formation and -resorption may be affected by ionizing radiation. A basic radiobiological characterisation of a set of mesenchymal stem cells derived from human adipose tissue in comparison to an osteosarcoma derived cell line was done. X-rays were used as a substitute for space radiation. Growth characteristics, osteoblastic differentiation potential, colony forming ability after irradiation, DNA double strand break repair after irradiation as well as cell cycle progression after irradiation were determined. It was shown that adipose tissue derived stem cells as well as the osteosarcoma derived cell line feature the potential of osteoblastic differentiation and are able to cope with low doses of X-rays relatively well because of their repair- and recovery potential. However higher doses of X-rays exert devastating effects on proliferation potential and cell cycle regulation, while the cancer cells were slightly more resistant to irradiation than the stem cells.