Macrophages in radiation injury: a new therapeutic target

Abstract

Radiotherapy can induce toxicity in healthy tissues such as radiation-induced fibrosis (RIF), and macrophages are proposed as new profibrogenic cells. In this Point-of-View, we summarize the role of the immune response in ionizing radiation injury, and we focus on macrophages as a new therapeutic target in RIF.

Keywords

• radiation injury
• macrophages
• immune system
• radiation toxicity
• lung fibrosis