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Small-scale dosimetry for alpha particle 241Am source cell irradiation and estimation of γ-H2AX foci distribution in prostate cancer cell line PC3

Mellhammar, Emma LU ; Dahlbom, Magnus ; Vilhelmsson-Timmermand, Oskar LU and Strand, Sven Erik LU (2022) In EJNMMI Physics 9(1).
Abstract

Background: The development of new targeted alpha therapies motivates improving alpha particle dosimetry. For alpha particles, microscopic targets must be considered to estimate dosimetric quantities that can predict the biological response. As double-strand breaks (DSB) on DNA are the main cause of cell death by ionizing radiation, cell nuclei are relevant volumes necessary to consider as targets. Since a large variance is expected of alpha particle hits in individual cell nuclei irradiated by an uncollimated alpha-emitting source, the damage induced should have a similar distribution. The induction of DSB can be measured by immunofluorescent γ-H2AX staining. The cell γ-H2AX foci distribution and alpha particle hits distribution should... (More)

Background: The development of new targeted alpha therapies motivates improving alpha particle dosimetry. For alpha particles, microscopic targets must be considered to estimate dosimetric quantities that can predict the biological response. As double-strand breaks (DSB) on DNA are the main cause of cell death by ionizing radiation, cell nuclei are relevant volumes necessary to consider as targets. Since a large variance is expected of alpha particle hits in individual cell nuclei irradiated by an uncollimated alpha-emitting source, the damage induced should have a similar distribution. The induction of DSB can be measured by immunofluorescent γ-H2AX staining. The cell γ-H2AX foci distribution and alpha particle hits distribution should be comparable and thereby verify the necessity to consider the relevant dosimetric volumes. Methods: A Monte Carlo simulation model of an 241Am source alpha particle irradiation setup was combined with two versions of realistic cell nuclei phantoms. These were generated from DAPI-stained PC3 cells imaged with fluorescent microscopy, one consisting of elliptical cylinders and the other of segmented mesh volumes. PC3 cells were irradiated with the 241Am source for 4, 8 and 12 min, and after 30 min fixated and stained with immunofluorescent γ-H2AX marker. The detected radiation-induced foci (RIF) were compared to simulated RIF. Results: The mesh volume phantom detected a higher mean of alpha particle hits and energy imparted (MeV) per cell nuclei than the elliptical cylinder phantom, but the mean specific energy (Gy) was very similar. The mesh volume phantom detected a slightly larger variance between individual cells, stemming from the more extreme and less continuous distribution of cell nuclei sizes represented in this phantom. The simulated RIF distribution from both phantoms was in good agreement with the detected RIF, although the detected distribution had a zero-inflated shape not seen in the simulated distributions. An estimate of undetected foci was used to correct the detected RIF distribution and improved the agreement with the simulations. Conclusion: Two methods to generate cell nuclei phantoms for Monte Carlo dosimetry simulations were tested and generated similar results. The simulated and detected RIF distributions from alpha particle-irradiated PC3 cells were in good agreement, proposing the necessity to consider microscopic targets in alpha particle dosimetry.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Alpha particles, Monte Carlo simulation, PC3, Small-scale dosimetry, γ-H2AX
in
EJNMMI Physics
volume
9
issue
1
article number
46
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • pmid:35852717
  • scopus:85134390848
ISSN
2197-7364
DOI
10.1186/s40658-022-00475-x
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Funding Information: Open access funding provided by Lund University. This study was performed with generous support from the Swedish Cancer Society (Grant No. 20 1060 PjF) and Mrs. Berta Kamprad's Foundation (Grant No. F2018/1071). Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).
id
a5635561-18ac-46e6-86b2-dc0b5dbf6c2a
date added to LUP
2022-09-05 12:52:09
date last changed
2024-04-04 11:25:16
@article{a5635561-18ac-46e6-86b2-dc0b5dbf6c2a,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: The development of new targeted alpha therapies motivates improving alpha particle dosimetry. For alpha particles, microscopic targets must be considered to estimate dosimetric quantities that can predict the biological response. As double-strand breaks (DSB) on DNA are the main cause of cell death by ionizing radiation, cell nuclei are relevant volumes necessary to consider as targets. Since a large variance is expected of alpha particle hits in individual cell nuclei irradiated by an uncollimated alpha-emitting source, the damage induced should have a similar distribution. The induction of DSB can be measured by immunofluorescent γ-H2AX staining. The cell γ-H2AX foci distribution and alpha particle hits distribution should be comparable and thereby verify the necessity to consider the relevant dosimetric volumes. Methods: A Monte Carlo simulation model of an <sup>241</sup>Am source alpha particle irradiation setup was combined with two versions of realistic cell nuclei phantoms. These were generated from DAPI-stained PC3 cells imaged with fluorescent microscopy, one consisting of elliptical cylinders and the other of segmented mesh volumes. PC3 cells were irradiated with the <sup>241</sup>Am source for 4, 8 and 12 min, and after 30 min fixated and stained with immunofluorescent γ-H2AX marker. The detected radiation-induced foci (RIF) were compared to simulated RIF. Results: The mesh volume phantom detected a higher mean of alpha particle hits and energy imparted (MeV) per cell nuclei than the elliptical cylinder phantom, but the mean specific energy (Gy) was very similar. The mesh volume phantom detected a slightly larger variance between individual cells, stemming from the more extreme and less continuous distribution of cell nuclei sizes represented in this phantom. The simulated RIF distribution from both phantoms was in good agreement with the detected RIF, although the detected distribution had a zero-inflated shape not seen in the simulated distributions. An estimate of undetected foci was used to correct the detected RIF distribution and improved the agreement with the simulations. Conclusion: Two methods to generate cell nuclei phantoms for Monte Carlo dosimetry simulations were tested and generated similar results. The simulated and detected RIF distributions from alpha particle-irradiated PC3 cells were in good agreement, proposing the necessity to consider microscopic targets in alpha particle dosimetry.</p>}},
  author       = {{Mellhammar, Emma and Dahlbom, Magnus and Vilhelmsson-Timmermand, Oskar and Strand, Sven Erik}},
  issn         = {{2197-7364}},
  keywords     = {{Alpha particles; Monte Carlo simulation; PC3; Small-scale dosimetry; γ-H2AX}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{EJNMMI Physics}},
  title        = {{Small-scale dosimetry for alpha particle <sup>241</sup>Am source cell irradiation and estimation of γ-H2AX foci distribution in prostate cancer cell line PC3}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40658-022-00475-x}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/s40658-022-00475-x}},
  volume       = {{9}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}