(August 22, 2015) An
interdisciplinary research team led by The University of Texas Medical Branch
at Galveston reports a new breakthrough in countering the deadly effects of
radiation exposure. A single injection of a regenerative peptide was shown to
significantly increase survival in mice when given 24 hours after nuclear
radiation exposure. The study currently appears in Laboratory Investigation, a
journal in the Nature Publishing group.
UTMB lead author Carla Kantara, postdoctoral fellow in
biochemistry and molecular biology, said that a single injection of the
investigative peptide drug TP508 given 24 hours after a potentially-lethal
exposure to radiation appears to significantly increase survival and delay
mortality in mice by counteracting damage to the gastrointestinal system.
The threat of a nuclear incident, with the potential to kill
or injure thousands of people, has raised global awareness about the need for
medical countermeasures that can prevent radiation-induced bodily damage and
keep people alive, even if given a day or more after contact with nuclear
radiation.
Exposure to high doses of radiation triggers a number of
potentially lethal effects. Among the most severe of these effects is the
gastrointestinal, or GI, toxicity syndrome that is caused by radiation-induced
destruction of the intestinal lining. This type of GI damage decreases the
ability of the body to absorb water and causes electrolyte imbalances,
bacterial infection, intestinal leakage, sepsis and death.
The GI toxicity syndrome is triggered by radiation-induced
damage to crypt cells in the small intestines and colon that must continuously
replenish in order for the GI tract to work properly. Crypt cells are
especially susceptible to radiation damage and serve as an indicator of whether
someone will survive after total body radiation exposure.