Evaluation of SCCVII tumor cell survival in clamped and non-clamped solid tumors exposed to carbon-ion beams in comparison to X-rays.

The aim of this study was to measure the RBE (relative biological effectiveness) and OER (oxygen enhancement ratio) for survival of cells within implanted solid tumors following exposure to 290MeV/nucleon carbon-ion beams or X-rays. Squamous cell carcinoma cells (SCCVII) were transplanted into the right hind legs of syngeneic C3H male mice. Irradiation with either carbon-ion beams with a 6-cm spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP, at 46 and 80keV/µm) or X-rays was delivered to 5-mm or less diameter tumors. We defined three different oxygen statuses of the irradiated cells. Hypoxic and normoxic conditions in tumors were produced by clamping or not clamping the leg to avoid blood flow. Furthermore, single-cell suspensions were prepared from non-irradiated tumors and directly used to determine the radiation response of aerobic cells. Single-cell suspensions (aerobic condition) were fully air-saturated. Single-cell suspensions were prepared from excised and trypsinized tumors, and were used for in vivo-in vitro colony formation assays to obtain cell survival curves. The RBE values increased with increasing LET in SOBP beams. The maximum RBE values in three different oxygen conditions; hypoxic tumor, normoxic tumor and aerobic cells, were 2.16, 1.76 and 1.66 at an LET of 80keV/µm, respectively. After X-ray irradiation the OERh/n values (hypoxic tumor/normoxic tumor) were lower than the OERh/a (hypoxic tumor/aerobic cells), and were 1.87±0.13 and 2.52±0.11, respectively. The OER values of carbon-ion irradiated samples were small in comparison to those of X-ray irradiated samples. However, no significant changes of the OER at proximal and distal positions within the SOBP carbon-ion beams were observed. To conclude, we found that the RBE values for cell survival increased with increasing LET and that the OER values changed little with increasing LET within the SOBP carbon-ion beams.

Selective enhancement of hypoxic cell killing by tempol-regulated suicide gene expression.

The presence of hypoxic regions within solid tumors is caused by an imbalance between cell proliferation and angiogenesis. Such regions may facilitate the onset of recurrence after radiation therapy and chemotherapy, as hypoxic cells show resistance to these treatments. We found that tempol, a nitroxide, strongly induces the accumulation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α, particularly under conditions of hypoxia. We, therefore, evaluated whether tempol enhances the gene expression via HIF-1α, potentially leading to various applications for cancer gene therapy targeting hypoxic cells. Consequently, following treatment with tempol under hypoxia, the luciferase (Luc) activity in the cells transfected with the plasmid containing the luc gene with the oxygen-dependent degradation domain and a promoter composed of hypoxia-responsive elements increased up to approximately 10-fold compared to that observed in cells treated identically with the exception of tempol. The plasmid constructed by replacing the luc gene with the fcy::fur fusion gene as a suicide gene, strongly induced the accumulation of the Fcy::Fur fusion protein, only when incubated in the presence of the hypoxic mimic CoCl2 and tempol. The transfected cells were successfully killed with the addition of 5-fluorocytosine to the cell culture according to the fcy::fur fusion gene expression. As similar but lesser enhancement of the Luc activity was also observed in solid tumor tissues in nude mice, this strategy may be applied for hypoxic cancer eradication.

Determination of the relative biological effectiveness and oxygen enhancement ratio for micronuclei formation using high-LET radiation in solid tumor cells: An in vitro and in vivo study.

We determined the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) and oxygen enhancement ratio (OER) of micronuclei (MN) formation in clamped (hypoxic) and non-clamped (normoxic) solid tumors in mice legs following exposure to X-rays and heavy ions. Single-cell suspensions (aerobic) of non-irradiated tumors were prepared in parallel and used directly to determine the radiation response for aerobic cells. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCCVII) cells were transplanted into the right hind legs of syngeneic C3H/He male mice. Irradiation doses with either X-rays or heavy ions at a dose-averaged LET (linear energy transfer) of 14-192keV/µm were delivered to 5-mm diameter tumors and aerobic single-cells in sample-tubes. After irradiation, the tumors were excised and trypsinized to observe MN in single-cells. The single-cell suspensions were used for MN formation assays. The RBE values increased with increasing LET. The maximum RBE values for the three different oxygen conditions; hypoxic tumor, normoxic tumor, and aerobic cells, were 8.18, 5.30, and 3.76 at an LET of 192keV/µm, respectively. After X-irradiation, the OERh/n values (hypoxic tumor/normoxic tumor) were lower than the OERh/a (hypoxic tumor/aerobic cells), and were 1.73 and 2.58, respectively. We found that the OER for the in vivo studies were smaller in comparison to that for the in vitro studies. Both of the OER values at 192keV/µm were small in comparison to those of the X-ray irradiated samples. The OERh/n and OERh/a values at 192keV/µm were 1.12 and 1.19, respectively. Our results suggest that high LET radiation has a large biological effect even if a solid tumor includes substantial numbers of hypoxic cells. To conclude, we found that the RBE values under each oxygen state for non-MN fraction increased with increasing LET and that the OER values for both tumors in vivo and cells in vitro decreased with increasing LET.