ESA IBER-2: Molecular and Cellular Changes in Human Endothelial Cells in Response to Nickel Ion Irradiation (CORALS project)

On Earth, most radiation exposures (medical and natural background) consist of low-linear energy transfer (LET) photons. In space, astronauts are exposed to higher doses and to more varied types of radiation. Cosmic radiation mainly consists of high-energy protons and high-Z and -energy (HZE) particles. These high-LET particles are predicted to account for most of the radiation induced health effects. In this regard, further analysis of the biological effects of HZE particles is essential. In the present study, endothelial cells were irradiated with different doses of nickel ions produced in the synchrotron at GSI (Darmstadt, Germany). After different time points, RNA was extracted for genome-wide analysis and supernatants were collected for multiplex cytokine assay. DNA double strand breaks were detected using γH2AX staining. Our results demonstrated that nickel irradiation induced molecular and cellular changes in human endothelial cells. Further analysis is ongoing to confirm the obtained data and to further explore the biological effects after nickel ion exposure.