Fig. 1

Radiation induces cytokine release. A-C FaDu, Cal-27 and SQ20B HNSCC cells were exposed to 0 (Sham), 2, 4, and 8 Gy of X-ray radiation and analyzed for clonogenic survival (A), IL-1α (B) and IL-6 (C) 24 h after RT in cell culture media by ELISA. D-G: Cal-27 HNSCC cells were exposed to 0 (Sham), 2, 4, and 8 Gy of X-ray radiation then cell culture media harvested after the indicated timepoints for analysis of IL-1α (D), IL-1β (E) IL-1RA (F) and IL-6 (G) by ELISA. H: Cal-27 cells were pretreated with an IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) and neutralizing antibodies against IL-1α (nIL-1α) and IL-1β (nIL-1β), exposed to 0 (Sham), 2, 4, and 8 Gy, then IL-6 measured in cell culture media by ELISA. Average values were normalized to Sham control and plotted as fold change. Bars represent the mean of n = 3 independent experiments. Error bars represent standard error from the mean. *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001; ****p < .0001. ND: non-detectable