The role of cell junctions in radiation-induced injury to normal tissue
Normal tissue faces the risk of ionizing radiation (IR) exposure during radiological examination or radiotherapy, and growing evidence indicates an elevated risk of radiation-induced normal tissue dysfunction via disrupted cell junctions. However, the mechanisms underlying this type of damage are not well understood. IR may induce tissue inflammation, but there is a paucity of evidence to support this theory. In this review, we summarize the literature to illustrate the role of cell junctions in radiation-induced normal tissue injury. Targeting cell junction proteins after IR may lead to new methods of normal tissue protection during radiotherapy or radiological examination.
Authors
- Yanhe Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6451-4527)
- Xiu Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4923-4787)
- Lin Ma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9460-6817)
- Xueling Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8425-8241)
- Jiahui Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2406-6728)
- Qi Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0839-8039)
- Ge Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5557-3274)
Institutions
- Shenzhen University (CN)
- University Town of Shenzhen (CN)
- Shenzhen University Health Science Center (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences
- Published
- 2025-05-17
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrras.2025.101616
- Primary Topic
- Effects of Radiation Exposure
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality
- Science and Technology Planning Project of Shenzhen Municipality
- Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province