Hypoxanthine Reduces Radiation Damage in Vascular Endothelial Cells and Mouse Skin by Enhancing ATP Production via the Salvage Pathway.

An effective method that can protect radiation-damaged tissues from apoptosis and promote tissue repair has not been reported to date. Hypoxanthine (Hx) is an intermediate metabolite in the purine degradation system that serves as a substrate for ATP synthesis via the salvage pathway. In this study, we focused on the transient decrease in intracellular ATP concentration after radiation exposure and examined the protective effect of Hx against radiation-induced tissue damage. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were X irradiated, and the cell viability and incidence of apoptosis and DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) were evaluated at different Hx concentrations. We found that in the presence of 2-100 µM Hx, the percentages of DSBs and apoptotic cells after 2, 6 and 10 Gy dose of radiation significantly decreased, whereas cell viability increased in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, the addition of Hx increased the levels of AMP, ADP, and ATP in the cells at 2 h postirradiation, suggesting that Hx was used for adenine nucleotide synthesis through the salvage pathway. Administration of a xanthine oxidoreductase inhibitor to a mouse model of radiation dermatitis resulted in increased blood Hx levels that inhibited severe dermatitis and accelerated recovery. In conclusion, the findings provide evidence that increasing the levels of Hx to replenish ATP could be an effective strategy to reduce radiation-induced tissue damage and elucidating the detailed mechanisms underlying the protective effects of Hx could help develop new protective strategies against radiation.