Modulation of g-Irradiation Induced ROS Responses by Engineered Fullerenes in Human Epidermal Keratinocytes

Abstract

High-dose ionizing irradiations can cause acute tissue and organ damage, especially severe cutaneous lesions. These cutaneous injuries often result in further complications and incur high mortality. Therefore, it is critical to develop effective therapeutic approaches for acute high-dose ionizing irradiation injury. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been implicated in mediating irradiation-induced cell damage. In the present study, we investigated the protective effect of engineered fullerene nanoparticles on γ irradiation-induced intracellular ROS levels in human epidermal keratinocytes (HEK). Cells were exposed to water-soluble fullerene derivatives at concentrations of 25, 50, and 100 µg/ml. Exposure of HEK cells to high-dose gamma (γ) irradiation (10 and 17 Gy) resulted in a significant increase in cellular ROS levels. The observed γ-irradiation induced ROS response was notably attenuated by modified-fullerenes, CD-C60, tris-C60 and hexa-C60. Our results point to the potential use of fullerene derivatives as novel therapeutic agents for protection against high-dose irradiation generated ROS-induced cellular damage.