Radiation induces release of inflammatory cytokines. (A&B) SUM159 and (C&D) MDA-MB-231 cells were analyzed at 48 hrs (A&C) or 5 days (B&D) after radiation with 8 Gy. RNA was extracted and expression of the interleukins, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-1b was assessed with real-time PCR. Graphs represent averages of three separate experiments. Error bars represent standard deviation. *p<.01, **p<.001, ***p<.001. (E) Secretion of IL-6 from SUM159 cells treated with increasing doses of radiation at 24, 48, or 72 hours was assessed by ELISA. Secretion of IL-6 was radiation dose- and time-dependent in SUM159 cells. This experiment was repeated in duplicate.