Preprint Review Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

A Review of Numerical Models of Radiation Injury and Repair Considering Subcellular Targets and the Extracellular Microenvironment

Nousha Afshari
,
Igor Koturbash
ORCID logo ,
Marjan Boerma
ORCID logo ,
Wayne Newhauser
,
Jacqueline Williams
,
Maria Kratz
,
Jeffrey Willey
,
Jeffery Chancellor
*
Version 1 : Received: 18 November 2023 / Approved: 20 November 2023 / Online: 21 November 2023 (07:24:39 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Afshari, N.; Koturbash, I.; Boerma, M.; Newhauser, W.; Kratz, M.; Willey, J.; Williams, J.; Chancellor, J. A Review of Numerical Models of Radiation Injury and Repair Considering Subcellular Targets and the Extracellular Microenvironment. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2024, 25, 1015, doi:10.3390/ijms25021015. Afshari, N.; Koturbash, I.; Boerma, M.; Newhauser, W.; Kratz, M.; Willey, J.; Williams, J.; Chancellor, J. A Review of Numerical Models of Radiation Injury and Repair Considering Subcellular Targets and the Extracellular Microenvironment. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2024, 25, 1015, doi:10.3390/ijms25021015.

Abstract

Astronauts in space are subject to a continuous bombardment of ionizing radiation. The Earth's magnetic field and the ISS shield some biologically damaging particles traveling through. Still, travel beyond low-Earth orbit and extravehicular activities are exceedingly more dangerous and there is a concern for the acute and late-occurring adverse health effects befalling astronauts. So, it is vital to consider the current tools and models used to describe and study the organic consequences of ionizing radiation exposure. It is equally important to see where these models may improve. This article reviews the historical development and current state of knowledge of radiation effects impacting astronauts in orbit. We explain the space radiation environment, cellular microenvironment, and how these may be incorporated in radiobiological models to aid in our understanding of the influence space travel may have on astronaut health. The topics discussed in this paper include a review of DNA damage and repair mechanisms and the numerical models that aim to explain the biological effects resulting from ionizing radiation damage. Historically, radiobiological models focused on how radiation damages nuclear DNA, built upon the hypotheses of Crowther and Lea in the 1940s and 1960s, and neglected other sub-cellular targets outside of nuclear DNA.

Keywords

Radiation; nuclear DNA; radiobiology; mitochondrion; GCR; DNA damage and re-pair mechanisms; mitochondrial DNA; organelles; HZE

Subject

Physical Sciences, Radiation and Radiography

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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