Characteristics and mechanisms of the bystander response in monolayer cell cultures exposed to very low fluences of alpha particles

When confluent cultures of mammalian cells are irradiated with very low fluences of alpha particles whereby only occasional cells receive any radiation exposure, genetic changes are observed in the non-irradiated (“bystander”) cells. Upregulation of the p53 damage-response pathway as well as activation of proteins in the MAPK family occurred in bystander cells; p53 was phosphorylated on the serine 15 residue suggesting that the upregulation of p53 was a consequence of DNA damage. Damage signals were transmitted to bystander cells through gap junctions, as confirmed by the use of genetically manipulated cells including connexin43 knockouts. Expression of connexin43 was markedly enhanced by irradiation. A moderate bystander effect was observed for specific gene mutations and chromosomal aberrations. This effect was markedly enhanced in cells defective in the non-homologous end joining DNA repair pathway. Finally, an upregulation of oxidative metabolism occurred in bystander cells; the increased levels of reactive oxygen species appeared to be derived from flavine-containing oxidase enzymes. We hypothesize that genetic effects observed in non-irradiated bystander cells are a consequence of oxidative base damage; >90% of mutations in bystander cells were point mutations. When bystander cells cannot repair DNA double strand breaks, they become much more sensitive to the induction of chromosomal aberrations and mutations, the latter consisting primarily of deletion mutants. While we propose that the genetic effects occurring in bystander cells are a consequence of oxidative stress, the nature of the signal that initiates this process remains to be determined.