NASA Investigates Proton Radiation Effects on Cells

A team of researchers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., has found radiation from protons could further enhance a process that occurs during tumor progression.

This new study helps to protect the astronauts from the harmful effects of radiation in space, as well as help cancer researchers on Earth better understand the effects of radiation treatment on the human body. Protons are the subatomic charged particles that are the main source of space radiation astronauts receive during spaceflights. 

The study was part of NASA's continuous effort to learn how to mitigate the effects of radiation during long-duration missions to destinations beyond low Earth orbit, such as asteroids and Mars.

"Our paper makes new discoveries on the potential risks from low doses of protons that occur outside of the tumor during radiation therapy, and to all tissues for astronauts exposed to space radiation," said Francis A. Cucinotta, chief scientist for the Human Research Program Space Radiation Program Element at Johnson and one of the authors of the paper.

The prime focus of the research was to study the biological effects of low-energy protons on epithelial cells and the protons propensity to enhance a process that occurs during tumor progression. 

They term this process as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), as associate it with Cancer Progression. EMT also causes radiation-induced fibrosis, one of the most common late effects of radiotherapy.

On conducting the study they noticed that protons alone can induce EMT-associated changes in normal human epithelial cells. Also low doses of protons still may prompt EMT and result in potentially detrimental effects.