Radiomodification of glyoxalase I in the liver and spleen of mice: adaptive response and split-dose effect.

Glyoxalase system, particularly glyoxalase I (Gly I) plays an important role in regulation of cell division and is considered to be a metabolic indicator of cell proliferation. The glyoxalase system is likely to have a close link with cellular radiosensitivity. Therefore, we have examined the effect of adaptive and split-dose of y-rays on the activity of Gly I in the liver and spleen of mice. For the adaptive response studies, mice pre-treated with a conditioning dose of 0.5 Gy were given a challenging dose of 4 Gy at varying time intervals. In the split-dose studies, a dose of 4 Gy was delivered into two equal fractions and spaced at different time intervals. The results show that pre-exposure to a conditioning dose or the fractionation of total dose decreased the specific activity of Gly I in the liver and spleen of mice. The decreased activity of Gly I was suggestive of protective action induced by the conditioning dose and fractionation of dose. The similar pattern of radiation response of Gly I probably supported the possibility of involvement of a common pathway in the radiation-induced adaptive and split-dose effect. From these observations a close link between the Gly I and the adaptive-response as well as the split-dose effect is speculated. Since, the glyoxalase system is vital for a variety of biological functions including cell division and repair, the present findings may have relevance in understanding the dose-fractionation as well as the biological defence induced by low doses of radiations.