Klin Onkol 2015; 28(3): 191-199. DOI: 10.14735/amko2015191.
Summary
Background: Ionizing radiation induces altered brain tissue homeostasis and can lead to morphological and functional deficits. The aim of the present study was to investigate the short-term and long-term effect of ionizing radiation on cell population resides adult rat hippocampus. Materials and Methods: Adult male Wistar rats received whole- brain irradiation with fractionated doses of gamma rays (a total dose of 20 Gy) and were investigated 30 and 100 days later. A combination of Fluoro-Jade C histochemistry for visualization of degenerating neurons, immunohistochemistry for detection of astrocytes and confocal microscopy were used to quantify the neurodegenerative changes in the hippocampal dentate gyrus and CA1 subfield. Results: A significant increase of Fluoro-Jade C labelled neurons was seen in both of investigated areas through the whole experiment, predominantly 30 days after irradiation. Non- signifi cant decrease of GFAP- immunoreactive astrocytes was found in the hippocampal dentate gyrus and CA1 subfield until 100 days after irradiation. Conclusion: Our recent results showed that radiation response of cell types resides the adult hippocampus may play contributory role in the development of adverse radiation-induced late effects.
