Effects of Gamma-Tocotrienol on Intestinal Injury in a GI-Specific Acute Radiation Syndrome Model in Nonhuman Primate
, Tarun K. Garg 3,†, Stephen Y. Wise 4,5, Oluseyi O. Fatanmi 4,5, Isabelle R. Miousse 2, Alena V. Savenka 6, Alexei G. Basnakian 6,7, Vijay K. Singh 4,5 and Martin Hauer-Jensen 1,*
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This is an important paper, and should be published, since there are limited data available for GI-ARS in nonhuman primates. I have included some specific suggestions in the attached pdf document (concerning numerous typos - most highlighted in yellow (e.g., lack of noun/verb agreement), as well as some general comments concerning the text and content. One think that I would specifically call out is that it would be helpful to provide additional information and discussion (either in the intro or discussion) about the expected conops where this drug would be useful. Recommend a discussion of the difference between pre-exposure administration (for military troops that might be knowingly sent into harm's way, or perhaps first responders), and post-exposure administration (for civilian populations, primarily, who will not know in advance of their exposure). GT3 efficacy is for pre-exposure, so is not considered mitigation...also see my note in the text where it is not made clear that other growth factors are effective at +24 hours post-exposure.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
We very much appreciated the reviewer’s suggestion for improving our manuscript. Typos and grammatical errors have been corrected throughout the MS. The MS has also been edited in response to the comments. all of which have been addressed. Under the Discussion section, we have included a brief paragraph regarding CONOPS. We have further clarified that all four agents approved by the US FDA are radiomitigators for use after radiation exposure (useful for the civilian population) while GT3 is a radioprotector for use prior to radiation exposure (important for military and first responders).
Reviewer 2 Report
The author suggest that the vitamin E analog gamma-tocotrienol(GT3) is a promising radio-protectant in nonhuman primates(NHP) with increasing the survival and proliferation of stem cells in intestinal epithelial and crypt.
This was an excellent report on very thorough study. The paper is also generally well written and structured.
Author Response
Thank you for your review of our manuscript and the positive comments to the study design and conduct. We also appreciate the comments that the manuscript was well written and structured.
