Background and objectives Radiation injury poses a serious threat to human health, causing complex and multifaceted damage to cells and tissues. Such injury can be caused by various factors, including nuclear accidents, medical radiation therapy, and space travel. Currently, finding effective treatment methods and drugs to mitigate the harmful effects of radiation injury on the human body is a crucial research direction. This study aimed to explore the protective effects and mechanisms of Licochalcone B (Lico B) on radiation-induced cell damage and radiation-induced mortality in mice.
Methods HaCaT cells, THP-1 cells, and HAEC cells were irradiated with a 10 Gray (Gy) dose of X-rays, while RAW 264.7 cells were irradiated with a 10 Gy dose of γ-rays. The cells were pre-treated with Lico B for 2 h before irradiation, and samples were collected 2 h after irradiation. Cell proliferation viability, oxidative stress levels, DNA damage, expression levels of inflammatory factors, matrix metalloproteinases, guanylate cyclase, and iron death-related factors were measured. C57BL/6 mice were exposed to total-body irradiation with a dose of 8 Gy or a combined dose of 6 Gy + 8 Gy of γ-rays to induce radiation injury. Lico B was injected intraperitoneally one day before irradiation and then administered for two consecutive days, with continuous observation for 20 days.
Results Mechanistically, Lico B significantly improved antioxidant levels, reduced DNA damage, and lowered the expression of inflammatory factors in HaCaT, THP-1, HAEC, and RAW 264.7 cells. Therapeutically, Lico B increased cell proliferation capacity and significantly extended the survival time of irradiated mice, demonstrating a strong radioprotective effect.
Conclusions Lico B exhibits significant radioprotective effects and may serve as a potential radioprotective agent.
Acknowledgments
We would like to express our gratitude to the research team of the article “10.15252/embr.202153499” for their inspiration and foundational work.
Funding
This work was supported by Military Logistics Research Projects (JKAWS22J1005 and AWS21J003).
Conflict of interest
All authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest related to the research project or the writing of this article.
Author contributions
Conducting main experiments and data analysis, writing the man-uscript (BYR, QL, JYJ, YCW), participating in the experiments (JYJ, YCW, YL, HFD), literature review, supervision, validation of the study (QL, BYR, XX), designing and supervising the pro-gress of experiments, and revising the manuscript (QL, JDJ). All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Ethical statement
This study was conducted in accordance with the recommenda-tions in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. The protocol was approved by the Experimental Animal Manage-ment and Use Committee of the Academy of Military Medical Sci-ences (Animal Ethics Approval Number: AMMSLAC-S-FT054-V3.0-R01). All surgical procedures were carried out under sodium pentobarbital anesthesia, and every effort was made to minimize suffering.
Data sharing statements
The data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.
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