Effects of barley beta-glucan on radiation damage in the human hepatoma cell line HepG2

摘要

Damage to normal tissue is an obstacle to radiotherapy of cancer. We have tested whether barley beta-glucan can enhance radioprotection in the human hepatoma cell line HepG2. The cytotoxicity of beta-glucan was determined by the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. A clonogenic assay was used to study the sensitivity of cells to beta-glucan, ionizing radiation (2-8 Gy), and the combination of both treatments. Acridine Orange/ethidium bromide staining was used to examine induction of apoptosis by beta-glucan, radiation (6 Gy), and the combination. DNA strand breaks were assessed by the comet assay. The MIT assay showed that treatment with beta-glucan was not cytotoxic. Indeed, a slight increase in cell viability was observed. Pre-treatment with beta-glucan, 1 mu g/ml, for 72 h protected HepG2 cells against radiation, as indicated by increased surviving fraction, reduced apoptosis, and fewer DNA strand breaks. These results show that barley beta-glucan is a radioprotective agent. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.