Circulating tRNA-Derived Small RNAs as Novel Radiation Biomarkers of Heavy Ion, Proton and X-ray Exposure

The effective and minimally invasive radiation biomarkers are valuable for exposure scenarios in nuclear accidents or space missions. Recent studies have opened the new sight of circulating small non-coding RNA (sncRNA) as radiation biomarkers. The tRNA-derived small RNA (tsRNA) is a new class of sncRNA. It is more abundant than other kinds of sncRNAs in extracellular vesicles or blood, presenting great potential as promising biomarkers. However, the circulating tsRNAs in response to ionizing radiation have not been reported. In this research, Kunming mice were total-body exposed to 0.05–2 Gy of carbon ions, protons, or X-rays, and the RNA sequencing was performed to profile the expression of sncRNAs in serum. After conditional screening and validation, we firstly identified 5 tsRNAs including 4 tRNA-related fragments (tRFs) and 1 tRNA half (tiRNA) which showed a significant level decrease after exposure to three kinds of radiations. Moreover, the radiation responses of these 5 serum tsRNAs were reproduced in other mouse strains, and the sequences of them could be detected in serum of humans. Furthermore, we developed multi-factor models based on tsRNA biomarkers to indicate the degree of radiation exposure with high sensitivity and specificity. These findings suggest that the circulating tsRNAs can serve as new minimally invasive biomarkers and can make a triage or dose assessment from blood sample collection within 4 h in exposure scenarios.