Low-Dose Radiation-Induced Transcriptomic Changes in Diabetic Aortic Endothelial Cells

Abstract

Low-dose radiation refers to exposure to ionizing radiation at levels that are generally considered safe and not expected to cause immediate health effects. However, the effects of low-dose radiation are still not fully understood, and research in this area is ongoing. In this study, we investigated the alterations in gene expression profiles of human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs) and diabetic human aortic endothelial cells (T2D-HAECs) derived from patients with type 2 diabetes. To this end, we used RNA-seq to profile the transcriptomes of cells exposed to varying doses of low-dose radiation (0.1 Gy, 0.5 Gy, and 2.0 Gy) and compared them to a control group with no radiation exposure. Differentially expressed genes and enriched pathways were identified using the DESeq2 and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) methods, respectively. The data generated in this study are publicly available through the gene expression omnibus (GEO) database with the accession number GSE228572. This study provides a valuable resource for examining the effects of low-dose radiation on HAECs and T2D-HAECs, thereby contributing to a better understanding of the potential human health risks associated with low-dose radiation exposure.