Objective To explore the mechanisms of cytokines on acute radiation disease in irradiated beagles.Methods The sera of beagles irradiated with 4.5 Gy γ-rays with cytokines treatment was collected at different time points post irradiation.The two-dimensional gel electrophoresis(2-DE)was used to isolate and compare the differentially expressed proteins in sera.HD-MS was used to analyze the differentially expressed proteins with significance,and the amino acid sequences should be determined. Results High resolution 2-DE gel map was obtained.There were six differentially expressed proteins in sera of irradiated beagles at different time points.Four protein spots were successfully identified by MS.A significant spot was identified as serum amyloid A(SAA)by HD-MS,with relative molecular mass of 13 077 and isoelectfie point of 6.26.Expression of SAA was not found 1 d pre-irradiation and 36 d postirradiation,but increased slightly 1 d(0.2166)and significantly 14 d post-irradiation(0.4577). Conclusions The expression of serum amyloid A was consistent with the process of acute radiation injury,which might indicate the turnover of the disease.