1. Ionizing radiation, ion transports and radioresistance of cancer cells
- Author
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Peter Ruth, Lena Butz, Benjamin Stegen, Dominik Klumpp, Stephan M. Huber, Norbert Braun, and Franziska Eckert
- Subjects
Genetics ,DNA Repair ,cell migration ,lcsh:QP1-981 ,Physiology ,DNA repair ,medicine.medical_treatment ,cell cycle control ,Review Article ,Cell cycle ,Biology ,radiation therapy ,Ion Channels ,lcsh:Physiology ,Ionizing radiation ,Radiation therapy ,Chromatin remodeling ,Physiology (medical) ,Radioresistance ,Cancer cell ,medicine ,Cancer research ,cell cycle ,Irradiation ,Ion channel - Abstract
The standard treatment of many tumor entities comprises fractionated radiation therapy which applies ionizing radiation to the tumor-bearing target volume. Ionizing radiation causes double-strand breaks in the DNA backbone that result in cell death if the number of DNA double-strand breaks exceeds the DNA repair capacity of the tumor cell. Ionizing radiation reportedly does not only act on the DNA in the nucleus but also on the plasma membrane. In particular, ionizing radiation-induced modifications of ion channels and transporters have been reported. Importantly, these altered transports seem to contribute to the survival of the irradiated tumor cells. The present review article summarizes our current knowledge on the underlying mechanisms and introduces strategies to radiosensitize tumor cells by targeting plasma membrane ion transports.
- Published
- 2013