本篇論文主旨在於比較三種不同型式的鍺化物—氧化鍺（GeO2）、有機鍺（Ge-132）以及奈米鍺顆粒—對細胞生長與輻射敏感性等效應的差異。將中國倉鼠卵巢細胞（CHO K1）以5 mM Ge-132持續處理48小時，並不會影響其生長速率；相反的，處理5 mM GeO2的細胞則明顯可見生長速率遲緩。造成生長遲緩的原因主要是由於細胞週期的停滯。我們發現經過氧化鍺及奈米鍺顆粒處理過的細胞，其細胞週期分佈會停留在G2/M期，而有機鍺並不會造成這樣的情況。此外，氧化鍺及奈米鍺顆粒亦可增加細胞的輻射敏感性，有機鍺仍然無此現象。經過分析，細胞對有機鍺的攝取速率低於氧化鍺，在同樣的處理時間內，細胞內累積的有機鍺比氧化鍺來得少。但即使讓細胞攝取了相同量的鍺，有機鍺和氧化鍺的效應仍舊不同。氧化鍺及奈米鍺是透過增加輻射線對DNA的傷害並延緩DNA傷害的修補以提升細胞的輻射敏感性。我們發現氧化鍺和奈米鍺處理過的細胞，在經過X射線照射之後，會延長細胞週期停留在G2/M期的時間。而以鹼性彗星檢測及西方墨點法偵測□-H2AX的表現量，也可觀察到處理氧化鍺和奈米鍺的細胞，在經過X射線照射後，其DNA斷裂的情況加劇；若使細胞繼續培養4小時，DNA傷害的情況也尚未回復，也因此導致細胞的輻射敏感性增加。

We compared the cellular responses to three different forms of germanium compounds, i.e. inorganic-Ge (germanium oxide, GeO2), organic-Ge (Ge-132), and nano-Ge particle. Treating Chinese hamster ovary K1 cells with 5 mM Ge-132 did not alter the growth rate as compared to those of untreated cells within 48 hours. On the contrary, 5 mM GeO2 treatment delayed the cell growth through arresting the cells at G2/M phase. The same effect was observed in cells treated with nano-Ge. However, the population of cells in G2/M phase remained unchanged when receiving Ge-132. Moreover, treating cells with GeO2 and nano-Ge enhanced radiosensitivity, whereas the effect was not observed in Ge-132 treated cells. The cellular uptake rate of Ge-132 was slower than that of GeO2, which resulted in a less accumulation of Ge content in Ge-132 treated cells. However, the Ge content was similar when cell received 5 mM Ge-132 or 1 mM GeO2 for 12 hours. In this condition, a different radiosensitizing effect was still observed. GeO2 and nano-Ge enhanced radiosensitivity through elevating DNA damage as analyzed by alkaline comet assay and the quantity of □-H2AX. After exposing to the X-ray, a prolonged G2/M arrest was found in cells treated with GeO2 and nano-Ge. The presence of inorganic Ge compounds also affects the efficiency of DNA repair after X-irradiation. Enhancement of DNA break and reduction of DNA repair efficiency concurrently cause the increase of radiosensitivity.

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