Expression of IFNg and TGFb1 genes can distinguish radiation workers from the normal population

Abstract

Ionising radiation can cause different forms of DNA damage in living cells. Changes in biomarkers due to exposure to ionising radiation can be an appropriate tool for the immediate recognition of individuals exposed to radiation after a radiological accident or nuclear disaster. QPCR technique, as an approved method, was used for analysing the expression levels of sensitive genes following radiation exposure. Gene expression studies were performed on a group of 36 radiation workers and 36 matched–normal people without a history of radiation exposure. Mean gene expression values for control and irradiated groups were compared. There was significant difference between the mean gene expression of IFNg (p < 0.05), also significant difference was observed between the gene expression of TGFb1 (p < 0.05) in normal and irradiated groups. The logistic regression model is able to correctly identify 72.2% of irradiated samples (sensitivity) and 80.6% of normal samples (specificity).