Suitability of Animal Models for Studying Radiation-Induced Thyroid Cancer in Humans: Evidence from Nuclear Architecture

摘要

BackgroundRat and mouse have been widely used to estimate the radiation risk and tumorigenic effects of radiation with extrapolating the findings to humans. RET/PTC is a characteristic genetic alteration frequently found in radiation-induced thyroid cancer in human populations. Recently, nuclear architecture and spatial proximity between recombinogenic genes have been implicated as important factors in the generation of RET/PTC and other chromosomal rearrangements in human cells. However, it is unknown whether the nuclear architecture in rodent thyroid cells is similar to that of human thyroid cells. The aim of this study was to test whether the proximity effects that are observed between loci involved in RET/PTC rearrangements in humans are conserved across different species.