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Metabolic Biomarkers To Detect Exposure To Gamma Radiation

Background: 
The National Cancer Institute's Laboratory of Metabolism is seeking statements of capability or interest from parties interested in collaborative research to further develop, evaluate, or commercialize the development of biomarkers for radiation exposure and cell damage. 

Technology:
Gamma radiation has both short-term and long-term adverse health effects including cancer. Currently, there are no non-invasive means for radiation exposure assessment in research animals or humans.

Metabolomics is a rapidly advancing field that uses small-molecule metabolite profiles in order to study various cellular processes. Application of metabolomic technologies to the understanding of physiology, toxicology, and disease progression has led to appreciable advances by defining novel drug and carcinogen metabolites, as well as biomarkers of disease.

The inventors have recently identified various molecules in mouse urine that are present at statistically significantly higher concentrations after exposure to gamma radiation at doses of 3 Gy and higher.  These markers include 2'-deoxyxanthosine, xanthosine, 2'-deoxyuridine, 2'-deoxycytidine, N-hexanoylglycine, -thymidine, 3-hydroxy-2-methylbenzoic acid 3-O-sulfate, xanthine, and taurine.  This invention has potential application in 'radiation metabolomics', the application of metabolomic analysis to the field of radiobiology in order to gain a better understanding of cellular responses to stressors such as radiation.

Further R&D Needed:   

• Further investigation of time course and dose-response relationships
• Conduct radiation experiments with female mice and with different strains of mice
• Test biomarkers in studies involving human subjects

• Development of a non-invasive means to assess radiation exposure
• Ability to use 'radiation metabolomics' to study cellular responses to radiation.