Epigenetic and Related Signaling Pathways in Response to Ionizing Radiation and Nano-particles

With the development of our society and technology, ionizing radiation (IR) and nano-particles (NP) have been widely included in the medical therapies. In respect of the toxicity of IR and NP, they are considered as potential health risks. Increasing evidence from animal and cell experiments has reported that IR and NP can induce extensive DNA damage or genomic instability and lead to serious consequences for cells and organisms, for instance cancer. Furthermore, IR and NP can also determine hereditary effects thus represent a major concern for human population health. In-depth studies on the molecular mechanisms have indicated that epigenetic and related signaling pathways may play critical roles in the response to IR and NP. For example, more and more studies have mushroomed to demonstrate that microRNAs, long-coding RNAs(lncRNAs) and circle RNAs(circRNAs) can regulate or be regulated by IR and NP. Many signaling pathways such as DNA damage repair pathways can be affected, and many repair-related genes and proteins may be involved in the regulation of IR and NP responses. The outcome of these responses primarily depends upon the level and type of IR and NP as well as the genetic background of the exposed cell or organism and epigenetic factors. Additionally, in the real world, toxics often threaten human health in combinational status. As IR and NP are commonly exposed in the environment, industrial activities and medical applications, their combinational effects on human health should be considered.

This Research Topic aims at reviewing the current knowledge of in vivo and in vitro IR and NP effects on cell signaling solely or jointly that are critical to the cell response mechanisms. The aim is to improve the understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms governing the IR and NP responses and short-term or long-term effects, and to identify potential targets for clinical intervention.

We invite Reviews and Original Research articles focused on but not limited to the epigenetic and relative signaling pathway alterations of cells in response to Ionizing Radiation and Nano-Particles:
1. The role of non-coding RNAs (including miRNAs, lncRNAs and circRNAs) in cells in response to IR and NP;
2. Underlying mechanisms of m6A in response to IR and NP;
3. DNA damage repair mechanisms under IR and NP;
4. Autophagy and apoptosis related to IR and NP;
5. Innate and adaptive immunity related to IR and NP;
6. Low-dose IR and NP effects on health by population survey and animal/cell experiments;
7. Inflammation related to IR and NP;
8. Early-term and long-term effects of IR and NP;
9. Alternative splice mechanisms of IR and NP-induced cell responses.