SREL Reprint #3639

Chronic exposure to low doses of ionizing radiation impacts the processing of glycoprotein N-linked glycans in Medaka (Oryzias latipes)

Yeni Natalia C. Pérez-Gélvez1, Shem Unger2, Simone Kurz3, Katelyn Rosenbalm1, William Matthew Wright4, Olin E. Rhodes Jr.5, Michael Tiemeyer3, and Carl W. Bergmann3

1Carbohydrate Complex Research Center, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
2Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, The University of Georgia, Aiken, GA, USA
3Carbohydrate Complex Research Center, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
4Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
5Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Odum School of Ecology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

Abstract:
Purpose: Ionizing radiation is found naturally in the environment. Low doses of IR may have beneficial applications, yet there is also potential for detrimental long-term health effects. Impacts following exposure to low levels of IR have been refractory to identification and quantification. Glycoprotein glycosylation is vital to cell–cell communication and organismal function, and sensitive to changes in an organism’s macro- and cellular environment. We investigated whether accumulated low doses of IR (LoDIR) affect the N-linked glycoprotein glycans using Medaka fish (Oryzias latipes).
Materials and methods: State-of-the-art methods in radiation exposure and glycan analysis were applied to study N-glycan changes after 190 day exposure at three different rates of gamma irradiation (2.25, 21.01, and 204.3 mGy/day) in wild-type adult Medaka. Tissue N-glycans were analyzed following enzymatic release from extracted proteins.
Results: N-linked glycan profiles are dominated by complex type N-glycans modified with terminal sialic acid and core fucose. Fucosylation and sialylation of N-linked glycoprotein glycans are affected by LoDIR and a subset of N-glycans are involved in the organismal radio–response.
Conclusion: This is the first indication that the glycome can be interrogated for biomarkers that report the impact of chronic exposure to environmental stressors, such as low-level IR.

Keywords: Medaka; chronic exposure; N-glycans; low dose IR (LoDIR)

SREL Reprint #3639

Pérez-Gélvez, Y. N. C., S. D. Unger, S. Kurz, K. Rosenbalm, W. M. Wright, O. E. Rhodes Jr., M. Tiemeyer, and C. W. Bergmann. 2021. Chronic exposure to low doses of ionizing radiation impacts the processing of glycoprotein N-linked glycans in Medaka (Oryzias latipes). International Journal of Radiation Biology 97(3): 401-420.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).