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HYPORAD – HYPOthermia-induced RADioprotection

Coordinator: Matteo Negrini
Duration: 2020

Research group: Cerri Matteo, Sioli Maximiliano, Zoccoli Antonio

The aim of this project is to investigate if synthetic torpor can provide non-hibernators with an enhanced defence versus radiation damage even after the exposure, and how much of this defence is caused by hypothermia. The project is a natural evolution of HIBRAD (2017-2018), a previous project studying the radio-protection mechanisms of torpor in mammals

The hypothesis is supported by the observation that  hybernators have an enhanced resistance to radiation damage during the period of hypothermia; that non-hibernators subjected to syntetic torpor seem to present the same degree of resistance that hibernators show ; that the protective effect has been shown to be in place even if torpor is induced within three hours after exposure to a lethal dose of radiation.

If confirmed,  this could represent the first effective treatment for acute radiation syndrome – a concrete risk for workers in nuclear plants, nuclear facilities, and for space travellers

First results are summarized in the following publications:

  • “Hibernation and Radioprotection: Gene Expression in the Liver and Testicle of Rats Irradiated under Synthetic Torpor” , Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(2), 352 (https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/20/2/352)
  • “Study of enhanced radio-resistance induced by hibernation”, Il Nuovo Cimento C, SIF Congress 2020
    (https://www.sif.it/riviste/sif/ncc/econtents/2021/044/04-05/article/30)