Marked depression of radiation-induced emesis by olfactory bulbectomy or pre-exposure using low doses

Acute emetic response to relatively low-doses of X-irradiation on suncus (Suncus murinus) was examined. The behaviors recorded for each subject, using a video-cassette recorder system, were (1) the number of emesis, during exposure to a dose of 3.0 Gy; (2) emesis threshold. Results showed that the emetic threshold was observed at 0.85 Gy, and the number of radioemesis during exposure was 29. However, the observed threshold dose became 2.22 Gy following olfactory bulbectomy. The emetic number decreased significantly (p<0.01), and reached a value one-fourth of the sham-control. The bulbectomized suncus showed a resistance to X-irradiation. Furthermore, I examined whether the animals could also acquire radio-resistance when they were subjected to a brief of dose X-ray (0.3 Gy) prior to a exposure to 3.0 Gy. Results showed that brief pre-exposure increased the observed threshold, a pattern that was exactly the same as shown in the bulbectomized animals. Increasing the pre-exposure dose further to 0.45–0.60 Gy, however, resulted in the complete disappearance of the effect. These results suggest that only the mice pre-irradiated with 0.30 Gy acquired resistance to radiation-induced emesis.