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Williams MT, Sugimoto C, Regan SL, Pitzer EM, Fritz AL, Sertorio M, Mascia AE, Vatner RE, Perentesis JP, Vorhees CV. Cognitive and behavioral effects of whole brain conventional or high dose rate (FLASH) proton irradiation in a neonatal Sprague Dawley rat model. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0274007. [PMID: 36112695 PMCID: PMC9481014 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies suggest that ultra-high dose rates of proton radiation (>40 Gy/s; FLASH) confer less toxicity to exposed healthy tissue and reduce cognitive decline compared with conventional radiation dose rates (~1 Gy/s), but further preclinical data are required to demonstrate this sparing effect. In this study, postnatal day 11 (P11) rats were treated with whole brain irradiation with protons at a total dose of 0, 5, or 8 Gy, comparing a conventional dose rate of 1 Gy/s vs. a FLASH dose rate of 100 Gy/s. Beginning on P64, rats were tested for locomotor activity, acoustic and tactile startle responses (ASR, TSR) with or without prepulses, novel object recognition (NOR; 4-object version), striatal dependent egocentric learning ([configuration A] Cincinnati water maze (CWM-A)), prefrontal dependent working memory (radial water maze (RWM)), hippocampal dependent spatial learning (Morris water maze (MWM)), amygdala dependent conditioned freezing, and the mirror image CWM [configuration B (CWM-B)]. All groups had deficits in the CWM-A procedure. Weight reductions, decreased center ambulation in the open-field, increased latency on day-1 of RWM, and deficits in CWM-B were observed in all irradiated groups, except the 5 Gy FLASH group. ASR and TSR were reduced in the 8 Gy FLASH group and day-2 latencies in the RWM were increased in the FLASH groups compared with controls. There were no effects on prepulse trials of ASR or TSR, NOR, MWM, or conditioned freezing. The results suggest striatal and prefrontal cortex are sensitive regions at P11 to proton irradiation, with reduced toxicity from FLASH at 5 Gy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael T. Williams
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
- Division of Neurology, Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
- Cincinnati Children’s/University of Cincinnati Proton Therapy and Research Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Chiho Sugimoto
- Division of Neurology, Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
| | - Samantha L. Regan
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
- Division of Neurology, Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
| | - Emily M. Pitzer
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
- Division of Neurology, Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
| | - Adam L. Fritz
- Division of Neurology, Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
| | - Mathieu Sertorio
- Cincinnati Children’s/University of Cincinnati Proton Therapy and Research Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
| | - Anthony E. Mascia
- Cincinnati Children’s/University of Cincinnati Proton Therapy and Research Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
| | - Ralph E. Vatner
- Cincinnati Children’s/University of Cincinnati Proton Therapy and Research Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
| | - John P. Perentesis
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
- Cincinnati Children’s/University of Cincinnati Proton Therapy and Research Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
- Division of Oncology, Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
| | - Charles V. Vorhees
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
- Division of Neurology, Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
- Cincinnati Children’s/University of Cincinnati Proton Therapy and Research Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America
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