This study investigated the fluctuation of NF-KB and HIF-1a gene expression between inhabitants of a high-level background radiation area (HBRA) and a normal-level background radiation area (NBRA) of Ramsar, Iran. Sixty participants with the mean age of 48 ± 15 years were selected and divided into two groups. The group receiving a dose of ≤1.5 mGy/year (NBRA) was considered the control group and the target group (HBRA) received a dose of >1.5 mGy/year. These two groups were from neighbor regions to minimize socioeconomic differences between the participants. Blood samples were collected from each group and NF-KB and HIF-1a expression levels were compared using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) based on the stem loop method. The effects of residency duration in the respective areas and gender on the expression of NF-KB and HIF-1a was also examined. The HIF-1a expression level was statistically lower in the HLBRA region (P < 0.0002), while NF-KB expression was upregulated (P < 0.0001). Although the under-expression of HIF-1a in response to dose rate was significant in females (P < 0.0004), it was not different in males (P = 0.74), indicating a significant difference between sexes (P = 0.0047). The upregulation of NF-KB expression related to dose level was also significant for the female group (P < 0.0001), whereas it was not for the male group (P = 0.72). Notably and as expected, there was a significant relation between longer residency in the HBRA and HIF-1A under-expression (P < 0.026), while there was no effect of increasing residency time for NF-KB over-expression level (P = 0.29). The dwellers of the HBRA those noted that despite receiving an elevated radiation level were seemingly good in general health, showed some alterations in their molecular mechanisms, specifically HIF-1a and NF-KB expression levels. It is not clear if this is indicative of a beneficial adaptive response and more research is recommended.

本研究调查了伊朗拉姆萨尔市高背景辐射区（HBRA）和正常背景辐射区（NBRA）居民之间NF-KB和HIF-1a基因表达的波动。选择平均年龄为48±15岁的60名参与者，并将其分为两组。接受≤1.5mGy /年剂量的组（NBRA）被视为对照组，目标组（HBRA）接受> 1.5 mG​​y /年的剂量。这两类人来自邻国，以最大程度地减少参与者之间的社会经济差异。从每组中收集血样，并使用基于茎环法的定量实时PCR（qPCR）比较NF-KB和HIF-1a的表达水平。还检查了在各个地区和性别的居住时间对NF-KB和HIF-1a表达的影响。在HLBRA区域，HIF-1a的表达水平在统计学上较低（P <0.0002），而NF-KB的表达上调（P <0.0001）。尽管女性中HIF-1a的低表达对剂量率有显着影响（P <0.0004），但男性无差异（P = 0.74），表明性别之间存在显着差异（P = 0.0047）。雌性组与剂量水平相关的NF-KB表达上调也很显着（P <0.0001），而雄性组则没有（P = 0.72）。值得注意的是，如预期的那样，在HBRA中的更长居住时间与HIF-1A表达不足之间存在显着相关性（P <0.026），而对于NF-KB过表达水平，没有增加停留时间的影响（P = 0.29）。HBRA的居民指出，尽管辐射水平升高，总体健康状况良好，但其分子机制发生了一些变化，特别是HIF-1a和NF-KB表达水平。尚不清楚这是否表示有益的适应性反应，因此建议进行更多研究。