Japanese researchers say they have developed a protein that triples the survival rate of mice that have been exposed to high levels of radiation.
Japanese researchers say they have developed a protein that triples the survival rate of mice that have been exposed to high levels of radiation.The research team at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, said the protein, called FGFC, also has preventive effects; higher survival rates were confirmed in mice that received injections before they were exposed to radiation.The results of the team’s study will be presented at a meeting of the Japan Radiation Research Society that starts on Sept. 6 at Tohoku University.The researchers exposed groups of mice to 6 sieverts of radiation.The mice that were injected with FGFC in the abdomen two hours after exposure had three times the survival rate 20 days later, compared with the group that received no FGFC injection.Such intense radiation exposure can kill the mice by destroying stem cells that develop into intestinal mucosa.The researchers said FGFC apparently contains functions that prevent the stem cells from dying and stimulate the proliferation of the cells.The radiation level used in the experiment was much higher than radiation exposure for workers in a nuclear power plant under normal conditions.However, workers engaged in emergency operations following a nuclear accident could experience such high levels of radiation, the researchers said.