Publications by authors named "Shad R Morton"

In the event of a large-scale radiological emergency, delivering timely medical aid to individuals receiving potentially lethal doses of radiation will result in improved survival and decreased severity of injuries. While it may be possible to reconstruct a dose estimate based on a location during the event and/or early symptoms presenting after the event, limitations with readily available information and inaccuracy of that estimate may not provide enough certainty for successful medical triage. Thus, individual biodosimetry assessments would assist medical professionals in providing prompt care to those who would benefit the most.

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Background: Non-human primates, such as Rhesus macaques, are a powerful model for studies of the cellular and physiological effects of radiation, development of radiation biodosimetry, and for understanding the impact of radiation on human health. Here, we study the effects of 4 Gy total body irradiation (TBI) at the molecular level out to 28 days and at the cytogenetic level out to 56 days after exposure. We combine the global transcriptomic and proteomic responses in peripheral whole blood to assess the impact of acute TBI exposure at extended times post irradiation.

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In the search for biological markers after a large-scale exposure of the human population to radiation, gene expression is a sensitive endpoint easily translatable to in-field high throughput applications. Primarily, the ex-vivo irradiated healthy human blood model has been used to generate available gene expression datasets. This model has limitations i.

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An important component of ionizing radiation (IR) exposure after a radiological incident may include low-dose rate (LDR) exposures either externally or internally, such as from Cs deposition. In this study, a novel irradiation system, VAriable Dose-rate External Cs irradiatoR (VADER), was used to expose male and female mice to a variable LDR irradiation over a 30 d time span to simulate fall-out-type exposures in addition to biofluid collection from a reference dose rate (0.8 Gy/min).

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In the long term, Cs is probably the most biologically important agent released in many accidental (or malicious) radiation disasters. It can enter the food chain, and be consumed, or, if present in the environment (e.g.

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Internal contamination by radionuclides may constitute a major source of exposure and biological damage after radiation accidents and potentially in a dirty bomb or improvised nuclear device scenario. We injected male C57BL/6 mice with radiolabeled cesium chloride solution (137CsCl) to evaluate the biological effects of varying cumulative doses and dose rates in a two-week study. Injection activities of 137CsCl were 5.

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In the event of a nuclear attack or large-scale radiation event, there would be an urgent need for assessing the dose to which hundreds or thousands of individuals were exposed. Biodosimetry approaches are being developed to address this need, including transcriptomics. Studies have identified many genes with potential for biodosimetry, but, to date most have focused on classification of samples by exposure levels, rather than dose reconstruction.

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Article Synopsis
  • There's growing interest in developing methods to quickly assess radiation exposure after large-scale nuclear incidents using biological markers.
  • The study focused on Parp1 mice, which have a DNA repair deficiency, to analyze how their gene expression responds to radiation compared to wild-type mice.
  • Results indicate that Parp1 mice have a heightened gene expression response to radiation, which could help identify the extent of radiation exposure in humans with similar sensitivities.
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Article Synopsis
  • - Investigated the effects of whole-thorax irradiation (10 Gy) on non-human primates, focusing on lung injury and immune response without acute radiation sickness related to blood or digestive systems.
  • - Observed a decrease in lymphocytes and platelets shortly after irradiation, followed by increased respiratory rates and immune cell levels, with evidence of lung damage and euthanasia in some subjects at later stages.
  • - Found significant long-term DNA damage and gene expression changes in blood lymphocytes, indicating a sustained immune response alteration for at least 30 days, linked to responses to infections and oxygen-related stress.
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