Gadolinium is a commonly used contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The goal of this work was to determine how MRI contrast agents affect radiosensitivity for tumour cells. Using a 225kVp X-ray cabinet source, immunofluorescence and clonogenic assays were performed on six cancer cell lines: lung (H460), pancreas (MiaPaCa2), prostate (DU145), breast (MCF7), brain (U87) and liver (HEPG2). Dotarem® contrast agent, at concentrations of 0.2, 2 and 20 mM, was used to determine its effect on DNA damage and cell survival. Measurements were performed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to determine the amount of gadolinium taken up by each cell line for each concentration. A statistically significant increase in DNA damage was seen for all cell lines at a dose of 1 Gy for concentrations of 2 and 20 mM, at 1 h postirradiation. At 24 h postirradiation, most of the DNA damage had been repaired, with approximately 90% repair for almost all doses of radiation and concentrations of Dotarem. Clonogenic results showed no statistically significant decrease in cell survival for any cell line or concentration. Uptake measurements showed cell line-specific variations in uptake, with MCF7 and HEPG2 cells having a high percentage uptake compared to other cell lines, with 151.4 ± 0.3 × 10–15 g and 194.8 ± 0.4 × 10–15 g per cell, respectively, at 2 mM Dotarem concentration. In this work, a variability in gadolinium uptake was observed between cell lines. A significant increase was seen in initial levels of DNA damage after 1 Gy irradiation for all six cancer cell lines; however, no significant decrease in cell survival was seen with the clonogenic assay. The observation of high levels of repair suggest that while initial levels of DNA damage are increased, this damage is almost entirely repaired within 24 h, and does not affect the ability of cells to survive and produce colonies.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
September 2020
Regular Article|
August 03 2020
Effects of Gadolinium MRI Contrast Agents on DNA Damage and Cell Survival when Used in Combination with Radiation
Emily Russell;
Emily Russell
1,
a Patrick G. Johnson Centre for Cancer Research, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
b National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, TW11 0LW, United Kingdom
1 Address for correspondence: Queen's University Belfast, Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7AE United Kingdom; email: erussell11@qub.ac.uk.
Search for other works by this author on:
Stephen J. McMahon;
Stephen J. McMahon
a Patrick G. Johnson Centre for Cancer Research, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
Search for other works by this author on:
Ben Russell;
Ben Russell
b National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, TW11 0LW, United Kingdom
Search for other works by this author on:
Hibaaq Mohamud;
Hibaaq Mohamud
b National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, TW11 0LW, United Kingdom
Search for other works by this author on:
Conor K. McGarry;
Conor K. McGarry
a Patrick G. Johnson Centre for Cancer Research, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
c Radiotherapy Physics, Northern Ireland Cancer Centre, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Belfast, United Kingdom
Search for other works by this author on:
Giuseppe Schettino;
Giuseppe Schettino
b National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, TW11 0LW, United Kingdom
d University of Surrey, Department of Physics, Guilford, GU2 7XH, United Kingdom
Search for other works by this author on:
Kevin M. Prise
Kevin M. Prise
a Patrick G. Johnson Centre for Cancer Research, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT9 7AE, United Kingdom
Search for other works by this author on:
Radiat Res (2020) 194 (3): 298–309.
Article history
Received:
December 20 2019
Accepted:
June 23 2020
Citation
Emily Russell, Stephen J. McMahon, Ben Russell, Hibaaq Mohamud, Conor K. McGarry, Giuseppe Schettino, Kevin M. Prise; Effects of Gadolinium MRI Contrast Agents on DNA Damage and Cell Survival when Used in Combination with Radiation. Radiat Res 1 September 2020; 194 (3): 298–309. doi: https://doi.org/10.1667/RADE-20-00008.1
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.
Sign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionCiting articles via
Commonalities Between COVID-19 and Radiation Injury
Carmen I. Rios, David R. Cassatt, Brynn A. Hollingsworth, Merriline M. Satyamitra, Yeabsera S. Tadesse, Lanyn P. Taliaferro, Thomas A. Winters, Andrea L. DiCarlo
Studies of the Mortality of Atomic Bomb Survivors, Report 14, 1950–2003: An Overview of Cancer and Noncancer Diseases
Kotaro Ozasa, Yukiko Shimizu, Akihiko Suyama, Fumiyoshi Kasagi, Midori Soda, Eric J. Grant, Ritsu Sakata, Hiromi Sugiyama, Kazunori Kodama
Effects of Radiation on Blood Pressure and Body Weight in the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat Model. Are Radiation Effects on Blood Pressure Affected by Genetic Background?
Norio Takahashi, Munechika Misumi, Yasuharu Niwa, Hideko Murakami, Waka Ohishi, Toshiya Inaba, Akiko Nagamachi, Satoshi Tanaka, Ignacia Braga Tanaka, III, Gen Suzuki
Exposure to Ionizing Radiation and Risk of Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Tanvi Srivastava, Ekaterina Chirikova, Sapriya Birk, Fanxiu Xiong, Tarek Benzouak, Jane Y. Liu, Paul J. Villeneuve, Lydia B. Zablotska
Long-Term Effects of the Rain Exposure Shortly after the Atomic Bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Ritsu Sakata, Eric J. Grant, Kyoji Furukawa, Munechika Misumi, Harry Cullings, Kotaro Ozasa, Roy E. Shore