Histopathological studies of nonhuman primates exposed to supralethal doses of total- or partial-body radiation: influence of a medical countermeasure, gamma-tocotrienol

Despite remarkable scientific progress over the past six decades within the medical arts and in radiobiology in general, limited radiation medical countermeasures (MCMs) have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the acute radiation syndrome (ARS). Additional effort is needed to develop large animal models for improving the prediction of clinical safety and effectiveness of MCMs for acute and delayed effects of radiation in humans. Nonhuman primates (NHPs) are considered the animal models that reproduce the most appropriate representation of human disease and are considered the gold standard for drug development and regulatory approval. The clinical and histopathological effects of supralethal, total- or partial-body irradiations (12 Gy) of NHPs were assessed, along with possible protective actions of a promising radiation MCM, gamma-tocotrienol (GT3). Results show that these supralethal radiation exposures induce severe injuries that manifest both clinically as well as pathologically, as evidenced by the noted functionally crippling lesions within various major organ systems of experimental NHPs. The MCM, GT3, has limited radioprotective efficacy against such supralethal radiation doses.