Molecular Mechanism Underlying Cellular Adaptive Response to Low Dose Radiation

Colette A. Sacksteder
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA.

Why this Project?

Calmodulin ( CaM) and associated signaling complexes are hypothesized to be able to sense low-dose radiation, resulting in changes in energy metabolism and gene expression. Preliminary data has demonstrated that CaM increases linearly with radiation dose. The CaM pathway has been shown to modulate energy metabolism and transcriptional regulation of antioxidant and pro-inflammatory pathways.

Project Goals

The goal of this research is to identify the molecular mechanisms by which cells adapt to low dose radiation exposure. Experimental Approach

Identify changes in CaM associated protein complexes as a function of radiation dose
Understand the role of proteins in mediating low-dose adaptive response
Determine dose-dependent changes in biochemical pathways and associated oxidative modifications of proteins.

Expected Outcomes

Adding to the knowledge of the exact molecular mechanisms underlying the role of energy metabolism in the adaptive cellular responses to low-dose radiation is expected to permit more accurate assessments of risk to ionizing radiation.

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