The thrombopoietin mimetic romiplostim leads to the complete rescue of mice exposed to lethal ionizing radiation

For the primary treatment of emergency exposure to high-dose radiation, such as in the event of a radiation accident, the top priority is the reconstitution and restoration of haematopoiesis. In most radiation accidents, drug therapy is chosen as the most suitable treatment; the chosen drug should already be approved domestically, stably supplied and regularly stockpiled. In the present study, a single administration of romiplostim (RP), an approved thrombopoietin receptor agonist, produced a 100% survival rate in C57BL/6 J mice exposed to a lethal dose (7 Gy) of (137)Cs γ-rays, and all irradiated mice survived for more than 30 days with both 3- and 5-day consecutive administrations. By day 30, the peripheral blood cells, bone marrow cells and haematopoietic progenitor cells of the RP-administered irradiated mice had all recovered to a level that was not significantly different from that in non-irradiated mice. In contrast to myelosuppression, which did not fully recover until day 30, the expression of several bone marrow cell surface antigens recovered sooner, and DNA repair concurrently increased in haematopoietic cells, speeding the resolution of double strand breaks and reducing the rates of apoptosis. These findings suggest that RP may be a clinic-ready countermeasure to treat victims of radiation accidents.