How Are Oxidative Stress and Radiation Related?
A state of oxidative stress can be induced by a number of factors, including chemical agents and radiation. Radiation-induced damage and oxidative stress are closely tied. Irradiated cells produce damaging ROS. Treatment with antioxidants can dampen the detrimental effects of radiation exposure (2). Cytoplasmic irradiation can result in damage to nuclear DNA, and experiments with free radical scavengers have shown this DNA damage is dependent on ROS generation (2, 7). Evidence suggests that a cell’s oxidative state not only plays a role at the time of radiation exposure, but also has effects long after exposure. As the result of irradiation, cells can produce ROS for several minutes or even hours after being exposed (2). In addition to ROS production, cells are stimulated to increase their expression of antioxidants (2). This abundance of antioxidant defenses may play a role in the radioadaptive response (2), defined as the triggering of cellular effects upon radiation exposure that pr
