Clinically Relevant Radiation Exposure Differentially Impacts Forms of Cell Death in Human Cells of the Innate and Adaptive Immune System

In cancer treatments, especially high-dose radiotherapy (HDRT) is applied. Patients suffering from chronic inflammatory diseases benefit from low-dose radiation therapy (LDRT), but exposure to very low radiation doses can still steadily increase for diagnostic purposes. Yet, little is known about how radiation impacts on forms of cell death in human immune cells. In this study, the radiosensitivity of human immune cells of the peripheral blood was examined in a dose range from 0.01 to 60 Gy with regard to induction of apoptosis, primary necrosis, and secondary necrosis. Results showed that immune cells differed in their radiosensitivity, with monocytes being the most radioresistant. T cells mainly died by necrosis and were moderately radiosensitive. This was followed by B and natural killer (NK) cells, which died mainly by apoptosis. X-radiation had no impact on cell death in immune cells at very low doses (≤0.1 Gy). Radiation doses of LDRT (0.3–0.7 Gy) impacted on the more radiosensitive NK and B cells, which might contribute to attenuation of inflammation. Even single doses applied during RT of tumors did not erase the immune cells completely. These in vitro studies can be considered as the basis to optimize individual radiation therapy schemes in multimodal settings and to define suited time points for further inclusion of immunotherapies.