Potential Utility of Peptides Against Damage Induced by Ionizing Radiation

Abstract

Radioprotection is the process whereby biological systems are aided against undesirable radiation hazards. Primitive radioprotectors suffered from either having crucial side effects or low efficacy in clinical applications. Therefore, the search for less toxic but more capable radioprotectants has continued for decades. Peptides have been investigated as radioprotectants in a variety of preclinical models both in vitro and in vivo. Peptides exert their influence through scavenging free radicals, modifying cell signaling and inhibiting cell apoptosis. Demonstrating potential in vivo properties, peptide radiation countermeasures might find enough credit for use in humans in the future. This article reviews the potential therapeutic value of currently known radioprotective peptides and attempts to provide a comprehensive source for further scientific research in this area.

Inter-agency perspective: Translating advances in biomarker discovery and medical countermeasures development between terrestrial and space radiation environments

“…Several vitamin approaches mentioned above are covered in detail in another paper in this issue (Singh et al). Dietary supplementation with Bowman-Birk protease inhibitors derived from soybeans ( Shaghagi et al, 2021 ; Kennedy, 2021 ), L-selenomethionine, or a combination of selected antioxidant agents ( Guan et al, 2004 ; Kennedy et al, 2007 ) has shown promise to prevent the decrease in antioxidants in the plasma of mice exposed to proton or HZE particle radiation. Adding nutritional foods, such as blueberries, to crew diets may provide added benefits to help reduce ROS and mitigate radiation-induced CNS effects, as reported in animal studies using space-relevant radiation exposures ( Poulose et al, 2017 ).…”

Radioprotective Effect of Zinc Nanoparticles on Ionizing Radiation-induced Nephrotoxicity in Mice

“…Kidney is an IR sensitive organ because the function and morphology of kidney as well as phenotype of kidney cells are affected by IR [12]. Several investigations have reported the protective effects of antioxidants scavenging free radicals as radio protectors [13][14][15][16][17].…”