Despite numerous observations linking protracted exposure to low-dose (LD) radiation and leukemia occurrence, the effects of LD irradiation on hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) remain poorly documented. Here, we show that adult HSCs are hypersensitive to LD irradiation. This hyper-radiosensitivity is dependent on an immediate increase in the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that also promotes autophagy and activation of the Keap1/Nrf2 antioxidant pathway. Nrf2 activation initially protects HSCs from the detrimental effects of ROS, but protection is transient, and increased ROS levels return, promoting a long-term decrease in HSC self-renewal. In vivo, LD total body irradiation (TBI) does not decrease HSC numbers unless the HSC microenvironment is altered by an inflammatory insult. Paradoxically, such an insult, in the form of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) preconditioning, followed by LD-TBI facilitates efficient bone marrow transplantation without myeloablation. Thus, LD irradiation has long-term detrimental effects on HSCs that may result in hematological malignancies, but LD-TBI may open avenues to facilitate autologous bone marrow transplantation.
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