Radiation Physiology

Radiation Physiology Laboratory

Dr. Tang Feng Ru, MD, PhD
Senior Research Scientist and Principal Investigator (PI)

Research focus

The detrimental effects of acute or fractionated high-dose, high-dose-rate radiation on human health are well characterized, supported by data from radiotherapy practices, animal studies, and historical events such as the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Chernobyl disaster, and other radiation accidents. However, significant gaps remain in understanding the consequences of acute and chronic continuous radiation exposure, particularly at variable low dose rates with accumulated doses spanning low to high doses.

In the Radiation Physiology Lab, we address these gaps by leveraging diverse model organisms to:

  • Investigate harmful health outcomes linked to low-dose-rate radiation exposure.
  • Determine critical threshold doses for biological damage across age groups and genders.
  • Identify novel biomarkers and elucidate molecular mechanisms underlying radiation-induced pathologies.

Our work prioritizes understanding how developmental stages (e.g., fetal and neonatal sensitivity) and demographic factors (e.g., age, gender) modulate radiation risk, with a focus on long-term systemic health impacts. Our research aims to bridge critical knowledge gaps in low-dose rate/dose radiation biology, informing safety standards and therapeutic interventions for at-risk populations.

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Selected Recent Publications (*: Correspondence author)

  1. Wang H, Tanaka IB, Lau S, Tanaka S, Tan A, & Tang FR*. Alterations in Blood and Hippocampal mRNA and miRNA Expression, Along with Fat Deposition in Female B6C3F1 Mice Continuously Exposed to Prenatal Low-Dose-Rate Radiation and Their Comparison with Male Mice. CELLS, 2025; 14(3): 173.
  2. Wu J, Lv T, Liu Y, Liu Y, Han Y, Liu X, . . .Tang, F.R*. & Cai, J. (2024). The role of quercetin in NLRP3-associated inflammation. Inflammopharmacology, 2024; 32(6): 3585-3610.
  3. Li Y, Tang FR,* Luo Y. The cellular distribution of P2X7, P2Y6, and P2Y12 during or after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus and literature review. Brain Circulation, 2024; 10(4): 343-353.
  4. Wang H, Lau S, Tan A, & Tang FR*. Chronic Low-Dose-Rate Radiation-Induced Persistent DNA Damage and miRNA/mRNA Expression Changes in Mouse Hippocampus and Blood. Cells, 2024; 13(20): 1705.
  5. Tang FR*. Health Effect of Low-Dose-Rate Irradiation with Cumulative Threshold Dose: A Promising Area to Explore in Nuclear Emergency and Environmental Contamination. Cells, 2024; 13(18): 1521.
  6. Tang FR*, Tanaka IB, Wang H, Lau S, Tanaka S, Tan A, . . . Abe A. Effects of Continuous Prenatal Low Dose Rate Irradiation on Neurobehavior, Hippocampal Cellularity, Messenger RNA and MicroRNA Expression on B6C3F1 Mice. Cells, 2024; 13(17):1423.
  7. Liu L, Wang H, Ma ZW, & Tang FR*. Radiosensitivity-related Variation in MicroRNA-34a-5p Levels and Subsequent Neuronal Loss in the Hilus of the Dentate Gyrus after Irradiation at Postnatal Days 10 and 21 in Mice. Radiation Research, 2024; 202(4): 677-684.
  8. Wang H, Ma ZW, Ho FM, Sethi G, Tang FR*. Dual Effects of miR-181b-2-3p/SOX21 Interaction on Microglia and Neural Stem Cells after Gamma Irradiation. Cells, 2023;12(4):649.
  9. Ma XY, Yang TT, Liu L, Peng XC, Qian F, Tang FR*. Ependyma in neurodegenerative diseases, radiation-induced brain injury and as a therapeutic target for neurotrophic factors. Biomolecules, 2023;13(5):754.
  10. Huang Y, Zhang X, Chen L, Ren BX, Tang FR*. Lycium  barbarum  ameliorates neural damage induced by experimental ischemic stroke and radiation exposure. Front Biosci (Landmark Ed), 2023;28(2):38.
  11. Liu Y, Ma H, Wang Y, Ren B, Liu L, Sun A, Tang FR*. Neonatal exposure to low-dose X-ray causes behavioral defects and abnormal hippocampal development in mice. IUBMB Life, 2023;75(6):530-547.
  12. Liu Q, Huang Y, Duan M, Yang Q, Ren B, Tang FR*. Microglia as therapeutic target for radiation-induced brain injury. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2022;23(15):8286.
  13. Lee RX & Tang FR*. (2022). Radiation-induced neuropathological changes in the oligodendrocyte lineage with relevant clinical manifestations and therapeutic strategies. Int J Radiat Biol. 2022;98(10):1519-1531.
  14. Li LR, Sethi G, Zhan X, Liu CL, Huang Y, Liu Q, Ren BX, Tang FR*. The neuroprotective effects of icariin on ageing, various neurological, neuropsychiatric disorders, and brain injury induced by radiation exposure. Aging (Albany NY), 2022,14(3):1562-1588.
  15. Wang QQ, Yin G, Huang JR, Xi SJ, Qian F, Lee RX, Peng XC, Tang FR*. Ionizing Radiation-Induced Brain Cell Aging and the Potential Underlying Molecular Mechanisms. Cells, 2021;10(12):3570.
  16. Wang H, Ma Z, Shen H, Wu Z, Liu L, Ren B, . . . Tang FR*. (2021). Early life irradiation-induced hypoplasia and impairment of neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus and adult depression are mediated by microrna-34a-5p/t-cell intracytoplasmic antigen-1 pathway. Cells. 2021 Sep 18;10(9):2476.
  17. Tang FR*. Liu L, Wang H, Ho KJN, & Sethi G. Spatiotemporal dynamics of gamma H2AX in the mouse brain after acute irradiation at different postnatal days with special reference to the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. Aging (Albany NY). 2021, 13(12), 15815-15832.
  18. Ren BX, Huen I, Wu ZJ, Wang H, Duan MY, Guenther I, . . . Tang FR*.  (2021). Early postnatal irradiation-induced age-dependent changes in adult mouse brain: MRI based characterization. BMC Neuroscience, 2021, 22(1), 28.
  19. Segaran RC, Chan LY, Wang H, Sethi G, & Tang FR*. Neuronal development-related miRNAs as biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease, depression, schizophrenia and ionizing radiation exposure. Current Medicinal Chemistry, 2021, 28(1), 19-52.
  20. Liu YD, Tang G, Qian F, Liu L, Huang JR, & Tang FR*. Astroglial connexins in neurological and neuropsychological disorders and radiation exposure. Current Medicinal Chemistry, 2021, 28(10), 1970-1986.
  21. Saw G & Tang FR*. Epigenetic regulation of the hippocampus, with special reference to radiation exposure. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2020;21(24):9514.
  22. Wang Q, Xie C, Xi S, Qian F, Peng X, Huang J, & Tang FR*. Radioprotective effect of flavonoids on ionizing radiation-induced brain damage. Molecules, 2020 Dec 3;25(23):5719
  23. Wang H, Ahn KS, Alharbi SA, Shair OHM, Arfuso F, Sethi G, Chinnathambi A, Tang FR*. Celastrol alleviates gamma irradiation-induced damage by modulating diverse inflammatory mediators. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Feb 6;21(3):1084
  24. Wang H, Chandra Segaran R, Chan LY, Aladresi AM, Chinnathambi A, Alharbi SA, Sethi G, Tang FR*. Ionizing radiation-induced disruption of cellular junctions in HUVECs is primarily mediated through affecting MAPK/NF-kB inflammatory pathways. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity. 2019:1486232.
  25. Michael A, Bréchignac F, Iliakis G, Impens N, Kadhim M, Møller A, Oughton D, Powathil G, Saenen E, Seymour C, Sutcliffe J, Tang FR, Schofield P, Mothersill C. When a duck is not a duck; a new interdisciplinary synthesis for environmental radiation protection. Environmental Research 162(2018):318-324.
  26.  Tang FR*, Loganovsky K. Low dose or low dose rate ionizing radiation-induced health effect in the human. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity. 192(2018): 32-47.

Edited books

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International collaborations

Ukraine: 

Department of Radiobiology and Radioecology, Institute for Nuclear Research of National Academy of Science of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine

Dr. Eugene Tukalenko, Ph.D

Japan

Department of Radiobiology, Advanced Molecular Bio-Sciences Research Center,
Institute for Environmental Sciences, 2-121 Hacchazawa, Takahoko, Rokkasho
Aomori  039-3213, Japan

Dr. Ignacia TANAKA, DVM, Ph.D

USA

Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of South Florida,  SRC Biosciences, Tampa, Florida 33606, USA

Dr. Peter R Mouton, Ph.D