Biology subjects

Geyer, R.

Publications and source records attributed to Geyer, R..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Dosimetric and biologic intercomparison between electron and proton FLASH beams

Background and purposeThe FLASH effect has been validated in different preclinical experiments with electrons (eFLASH) and protons (pFLASH) operating at a mean dose rate above 40 Gy/s. However, no systematic intercomparison of the FLASH effect produced by e vs. pFLASH has yet been performed and constitutes the aim of the present study. Materials and methodsThe electron eRT6/Oriatron/CHUV/5.5 MeV and proton Gantry1/PSI/170 MeV were used to deliver conventional (0.1 Gy/s eCONV and pCONV) and FLASH ([≥]100 Gy/s eFLASH and pFLASH) irradiation. Protons were delivered in transmission. Dosimetric and biologic intercomparisons were performed with previously validated models. ResultsDoses measured at Gantry1 were in agreement ({+/-} 2.5%) with reference dosimeters calibrated at CHUV/IRA. The neurocognitive capacity of e and pFLASH irradiated mice was indistinguishable from the control while both e and pCONV irradiated cohorts showed cognitive decrements. Complete tumor response was obtained with the two beams and was similar between e and pFLASH vs. e and pCONV. Tumor rejection was similar indicating that T-cell memory response is beam-type and dose-rate independent. ConclusionDespite major differences in the temporal microstructure, this study shows that dosimetric standards can be established. The sparing of brain function and tumor control produced by the two beams were similar, suggesting that the most important physical parameter driving the FLASH effect is the overall time of exposure which should be in the range of hundreds of milliseconds for WBI in mice. In addition, we observed that immunological memory response is similar between electron and proton beams and is independent off the dose rate.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Mice with a humanized immune system are resilient to transplantation of human microbiota

Human gut microbiota has co-evolved with human, and plays important roles in regulating the development and functioning of the host immune system. To study the human-specific microbiome-immunune interaction in an animal model is challenging as the animal model needs to capture both the human-specific immune functions and the human-specific microbiome composition. Here we combined two widely-used humanization procedures to generate a humanized mouse model (HMA-huCD34) with functional human leukocytes developed from engrafted huCD34+ cells and human fecal microbes introduced through fecal microbiota transplantation, and investigated how the two introduced human components interact. We found that the engrafted human leukocytes are resilient to the transplanted human microbes, while reciprocally the transplanted microbial community in the huCD34 mice was significantly different from mice without a humanized immune system. By tracking the colonization of human fecal Bacteroides strains in the mouse gut, we found that the composition of the strain population changes over time, the trajectory of which depends upon the type of mouse. On the other hand, different from Bacteroides, Akkermansia muciniphila exhibited consistent and rapid fixation of a single donor strain in all tested mice, suggesting strong purifying selection common to all mouse types. Our prospect study illustrated the complex interactions between the transplanted microbiome and different host factors, and suggested that the humanized mouse model may not faithfully reproduce the human-specific microbiome-immune interaction.

microbiology↗