Radioprotective effect of adenine on irradiation-induced apoptosis

AimTo investigate the radioprotective effect of adenine on irradiated lymphocytes and discover the possible mechanisms of protection.MethodsLymphocytes were pretreated for 12 h with adenine (0.001–0.1 μmol·L−1) and then exposed to 4 Gy radiation. Cell viability was observed by the MTS assay, apoptosis was detected by Annexin V-FITC/PI, DNA ladder, and caspase 3/7 activity. Caspase-9, Bax, and Bcl-2 gene expression was investigated by RT-PCR.ResultsIrradiation increased cell death and DNA fragmentation. Pretreatment with adenine significantly reversed this tendency. Furthermore, several anti-apoptotic characteristics of adenine were determined, including the ability to inhibit caspase 3/7, upregulate B-cell lymphoma (Bcl-2) and downregulate Bcl-2- associated X (Bax), capase-9 gene expression in 4 Gy-irradiated AHH-1 cells.ConclusionThe results suggest that adenine had a radioprotective effect to inhibit apoptosis in a concentration dependent manner.