Role of Environmental pH on the Response of Tumor Cells to Radiation

초록

It is well known that the human tumor suppressor protein p53 is a key regulator of cellular responses to radiation. We have already found that the level of p53 markedly increased after 4-12 Gy irradiation in pH 7.5 and 6.6 environment. p53 accentuated the progression of cells from radiation-induced G2/M arrest to apoptosis in pH 7.5 environment and the pH 6.6 environment suppressed the progression of cells through G2/M phase to apoptosis after irradiation. In this study, we have investigated the molecular mechanism of p53 induction by radiation in pH 7.5 and 6.6 environment.