Radiation damage to rat immune system induced by 14 MeV fast neutrons

Xiao Wang, Ying Qi Yu, Jie Ying Zheng, Zhen Gang Shan, Run Hong Lei, Li Sui, Fu Quan Kong, Hong Tao Chen, Yu Lin Deng, Hong Ma*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)
Plum Print visual indicator of research metrics
  • Citations
    • Citation Indexes: 1
  • Captures
    • Readers: 4
see details

Abstract

In order to study the damage of immune system and antioxidant ability of rats induced by fast neutron, Wistar male rats were irradiated with 14 MeV fast neutrons on whole-body at the dose of 5 Gy. Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group and irradiation group. The blood, thymus, spleen and the oxidative damage (the level of SOD, MDA and T-SOD) were examined at 1, 7 and 14 d after radiation. Compared with the control group, the number of white cells and lymphocytes of rats reached to a minimum at the first day after irradiation, and after 7 and 14 d, was still less than the normal group. Platelet count began to decrease at first day, after exposure to seventh day, reaching a minimum value, and still had significant difference with that of the normal group at the fourteenth day. While the nucleated cell number in rat bone marrow after irradiation for 14 days was significantly lower than normal group. In addition, the thymus and spleen were shrinking, viscera index decreased significantly. The level of SOD, MDA and T-SOD of plasma, thymus and spleen increased in different degree. Results show that, fast neutron irradiation has effect on thymus, spleen and plasma, rising oxidative stress and apoptosis, resulting in spleen and thymus atrophy and a series of morphological changes, which seriously affect the immune function in rats.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)765-770
Number of pages6
JournalBeijing Ligong Daxue Xuebao/Transaction of Beijing Institute of Technology
Volume36
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2016

Keywords

  • Immune system
  • Neutrons
  • Radiation damage
  • Rats

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Radiation damage to rat immune system induced by 14 MeV fast neutrons'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this

Wang, X., Yu, Y. Q., Zheng, J. Y., Shan, Z. G., Lei, R. H., Sui, L., Kong, F. Q., Chen, H. T., Deng, Y. L., & Ma, H. (2016). Radiation damage to rat immune system induced by 14 MeV fast neutrons. Beijing Ligong Daxue Xuebao/Transaction of Beijing Institute of Technology, 36(7), 765-770. https://doi.org/10.15918/j.tbit1001-0645.2016.07.020