The effect of temperature on the bystander effect as examined in human prostate carcinoma cells with alpha particle irradiation

Abstract

The bystander effect is seen when irradiated cells release a factor that can produce damage or death in neighboring "bystander" cells that are not actually hit by any radiation. One proposed mechanism involves the irradiated cells releasing a soluble factor into the medium that can cause damage to the non-irradiated cells. Previous studies in the Coderre lab showed that the soluble factor released by DU-145 human prostate carcinoma cells was a short-lived, free radical species (Wang and Coderre, Rad. Res., 164, 711-722, 2005). This thesis examined the effect of temperature on the bystander effect. A co-culture system was used to create irradiated and bystander DU-145 cells in the same medium. This thesis showed that a decrease in temperature lessens or prevents the bystander effect. Researching the bystander effect will allow a better understanding of a process that may already be occurring during alpha-particle based therapies such as boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) and tumor radioimmunotherapy and could provide a means to improve these therapies.