Role of DNA double-strand break repair genes in cell proliferation under low dose-rate irradiation conditions

Radiation-induced DNA double-stand breaks (DSBs) lead to numerous biological effects. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved in cellular responses to low dose and low dose-rate radiation, it is informative to clarify the roles of DSB repair related genes. In higher vertebrate cells, there are at least two major DSB repair pathways, namely non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR). Here, it is shown that in chicken DT40 cells irradiated with gamma-rays at a low dose-rate (2.4 cGy/day), the growth delay in NHEJ-related KU70- and PRKDC (encoding DNA-PKcs)-defective cells were remarkably higher than in cells defective for the HR-related RAD51B and RAD54 genes. DNA-PKcs- defective human M059J cells also showed an obvious growth delay when compared to control M059K cells. RAD54(-/-)KU70(-/-) cells demonstrated their highest degree of growth delay after an X-irradiation with a high dose-rate of 0.9 Gy/min. However they showed a lower degree of growth delay than that seen in KU70(-/-) and PRKDC(-/-/-) cells exposed to low dose-rate irradiation. These findings indicate that cellular responses to low dose-rate radiation are remarkably different from those to high dose-rate radiation. The fact that both DT40 and mammalian NHEJ-defective cells were highly sensitive to low dose-rate radiation, provide a foundation for the concept that NHEJ-related factors may be useful as molecular markers to predict the sensitivity of humans to low dose-rate radiation.     

Induction of malignant transformation in mouse 10T1/2 cells by low-dose-rate exposure to tritiated water and gamma-rays at two different temperatures, 4 degrees C and 37 degrees C

Cultured mouse (C3H 10T1/2) cells in contact-inhibited state were subjected to protracted exposure at 4 degrees C or 37 degrees C to either beta-rays from HTO or 60Co gamma-rays. The duration of exposure was 20 h and the total dose was varied by changing the dose-rate. The dose-survival and dose-transformation curves for gamma-irradiation at 4 degrees C were close to those obtained after a single acute X-ray dose (0.5 Gy/min). When gamma-irradiation was administered at 37 degrees C, both the lethality and transformation induction were lower than those after the corresponding doses at 4 degrees C, presumably owing to repair of lethal and transformational damage during gamma-irradiation at 37 degrees C. The same effect of temperature was observed in the case of HTO exposure, indicating again the existence of repair of damage during beta-irradiation at 37 degrees C but not at 4 degrees C. These facts strongly suggest that when irradiated at a low temperature such as 4 degrees C, both the dose-lethality and dose-transformation induction relationships were independent of the dose-rate for either gamma- or beta-exposure, at least the dose-rates used in this experiment. Thus, the comparison of radiation effectiveness between beta- and gamma-exposures at 4 degrees C gave reliable values of relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of tritium beta-rays which were ca. 1.4 at the D0 for lethality and 1.6 for cell transformation within the dose range examined (1 to 6 Gy of beta-rays). The comparison between exposures at 37 degrees C resulted in RBE values (1.4 and 1.7, respectively) very close to those at 4 degrees C.     

金属硫蛋白对γ射线和丝裂霉素C致遗传损伤的拮抗作用

目的探讨兔肝锌金属硫蛋白（Zn－MT）对γ射线和丝裂霉素C（MMC）所致遗传损伤的桔抗作用。方法应用体内外微核试验和单细胞凝胶电泳法分别检测γ射线照射或MMC处理前后给以Zn-MT对微核形成或DNA链断裂的影响。结果664μg／kg剂量Zn-MT对5Gyγ射线诱发的小鼠骨髓微核形成有抑制作用。10、50μg／mlZn-MT能持抗1和3Gyγ射线及0．3μg／mlMMC诱发的g12细胞双核微核细胞率升高,50μg／mlZn-MT能使1Gyγ射线诱发的链断裂减少。结论兔肝ZnMT对γ射线和MMC所致遗传损伤有一定拮抗作用。     

Effect of a hypoxic cell sensitizer doranidazole on the radiation-induced apoptosis of mouse L5178Y lymphoma cells

We investigated the sensitizing effect of the 2-nitroimidazole analogue doranidazole, a new hypoxic radiosensitizer, on radiation-induced apoptosis in L5178Y cells. Apoptosis was assessed by checking DNA ladder formation, the presence of sub-G1 peaks in flow cytometry, and chromatin condensation. A radiosensitizing effect of doranidazole was also confirmed by a soft-agar colony assay of surviving cells. In the assay of DNA ladder formation, DNA fragmentation was observed following irradiation under an aerobic or hypoxic condition with or without doranidazole. The proportions of the cells at the sub-G1 peak in a flow cytometric measurement was not very different among the irradiations at 5 Gy under the aerobic condition, 15 Gy under hypoxia, and 10 Gy with 1 mM doranidazole under hypoxia. The fraction of cells with chromatin condensation was found to be significantly increased with doranidazole up to 3 mM when applied under hypoxic irradiation, but did not increase even at 10 mM. The sensitizer enhancement ratio was estimated to be about 1.7 with a concentration of 1 mM. This enhancement ratio was not different from that observed by assaying cell survivals. On the other hand, doranidazole showed no radiosensitizing effect under aerobic conditions with 1 mM. In conclusion, the radiation-induced apoptosis of L5178Y cells was enhanced by doranidazole under hypoxia.     

Development, beam characterization and chromosomal effectiveness of X-rays of RBC characteristic X-ray generator

A characteristic hot-filament type X-ray generator was constructed for irradiation of cultured cells. The source provides copper K, iron K, chromium K, molybdenum L, aluminium K and carbon K shell characteristic X-rays. When cultured mouse m5S cells were irradiated and frequencies of dicentrics were fitted to a linear-quadratic model, Y = alphaD + betaD2, the chromosomal effectiveness was not a simple function of photon energy. The alpha-terms increased with the decrease of the photon energy and then decreased with further decrease of the energy with an inflection point at around 10 keV. The beta-terms stayed constant for the photon energy down to 10 keV and then increased with further decrease of energy. Below 10 keV, the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) at low doses was proportional to the photon energy, which contrasted to that for high energy X- or gamma-rays where the RBE was inversely related with the photon energy. The reversion of the energy dependency occurred at around 1-2 Gy, where the RBE of soft X-rays was insensitive to X-ray energy. The reversion of energy-RBE relation at a moderate dose may shed light on the controversy on energy dependency of RBE of ultrasoft X-rays in cell survival experiments.     

Protective effects of melatonin against low- and high-LET irradiation

To investigate the protective effects of melatonin against high-LET ionizing radiation, V79 Chinese hamster cells were irradiated with 100 keV/microm carbon beam. Parallel experiments were performed with 200 kV X-rays. To avoid the impact from extra solvents, melatonin was dissolved directly in culture medium. Cells were cultured in melatonin medium for 1 hr before irradiation. Cell inactivation was measured with conventional colony forming assay, medium containing 6-thioguanine was used for the selection of mutants at hprt locus, and the cell cycle was monitored by flow cytometry. Both carbon beam and X-rays induced cell inactivation, hprt gene mutation and cell cycle G2 block dose-dependently. But carbon beam showed stronger effects as indicated by all three endpoints and the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) was 3.5 for cell killing (at 10% survival level) and 2.9 for mutation induction (at 5 x 10(-5) mutants/cell level). Melatonin showed protective effects against ionizing radiation in a dose-dependent manner. In terms of cell killing, melatonin only increased the survival level of those samples exposed to 8Gy or larger of X-rays or 6 Gy or larger of carbon beam. In the induction of hprt mutation and G2 block, melatonin reduced such effects induced by carbon beam but not by X-rays. The results suggest that melatonin reduces the direct interaction of particles with cells rather than an indirect interaction. Further studies are required to disclose the underlying mechanisms.     

Pre-irradiation at a low dose-rate blunted p53 response

We investigated whether chronic irradiation at a low dose-rate interferes with the p53-centered signal transduction pathway induced by radiation in human cultured cells and C57BL/6N mice. In in vitro experiments, we found that a challenge with X-ray irradiation immediately after chronic irradiation resulted in lower levels of p53 than those observed after the challenge alone in glioblastoma cells (A-172). In addition, the levels of p53-centered apoptosis and its related proteins after the challenge were strongly correlated with the above-mentioned phenomena in squamous cell carcinoma cells (SAS/neo). In in vivo experiments, the accumulation of p53 and Bax, and the induction of apoptosis were observed dose-dependently in mouse spleen at 12 h after a challenge with X-rays (3.0 Gy). However, we found significant suppression of p53 and Bax accumulation and the induction of apoptosis 12 h after challenge irradiation at 3.0 Gy with a high dose-rate following chronic pre-irradiation (1.5 Gy, 0.001 Gy/min). These findings suggest that chronic pre-irradiation suppressed the p53 function through radiation-induced signaling and/or p53 stability.     

晚期混合裂变产物内照射诱发体细胞HPRT基因位点突变率与剂量率关系的研究

运用多核细胞法及胞质分裂阻断微核（CBMN）法对5组Wistar雄性大鼠外周血淋巴细胞HPRT基因位点突变频率及微核进行检测。实验组注射不同放射性比活度的晚期混合裂变产物，在达到累积剂量近似相等（约4.66cSv）时心脏穿刺取血。结果显示，在总累积剂量近似相等条件下，HPRT位点突变频率、微核细胞率、微核率均随剂量率的增加而增加，4个剂量率点间的HPRT位点突变频率、微核细胞率和微核率总体上均有显著差异（P＜0．01）。HPRT基因位点突变频率、微校率与剂量率之间的关系可分别用函数Y=a＋blnX表示。HPRT位点突变频率与微核率间存在线性相关。     

Effect of ditaxin and heteranthin and inhibitory effect of Ditaxis heterantha extract on L5178Y tumor development in mice

Ditaxis heterantha seeds are used as spices for flavoring and coloring food. Two new apocarotenoids derived from the seeds, heteranthin and ditaxin, were evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxic effects in murine lymphoma cells lines. Bioabsorption in mice and preventive and antitumor effects of the apocarotenoids were determined. Ditaxin and heteranthin showed cytotoxic effects in vitro against murine malignant cells and normal splenocyte cells. The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) for ditaxin in splenocytes was 0.1825?mM; in L5178Y, the IC(50) was 0.1923?mM. The heteranthin IC(50) in splenocytes was 0.1325?mM; in L5178Y, the value was 0.3889?mM. The maximum ditaxin plasma concentration was found after 2 hours of administration (mean±standard deviation, 7.5±2.05?μg/mL). Oral administration of the D. heterantha extract (100?mg/kg per day) for 14 days after the L5178Y lymphoma cell implantation showed no significant effect compared with groups that were not pretreated. However, tumor inhibition in groups treated intraperitoneally before inoculation with the L5178Y cells showed a significant difference (P<.001) compared with the groups not pretreated.     

Mutation induction in cultured human cells after low-dose and low-dose-rate gamma-ray irradiation: detection by LOH analysis

To study the genetic effects of low-doses and low-dose-rate ionizing radiation (IR), human lymphoblastoid TK6 cells were exposed to 30 mGy of gamma-rays at a dose-rate of 1.2 mGy/hr. The frequency of early mutations (EMs) in the thymidine kinase (TK) gene locus was determined to be 1.7 x 10(-6), or 1.9-fold higher than the level seen in unirradated controls. These mutations were analyzed with a loss of heterozygosity (LOH) detection system, a methodology which has been shown to be sensitive to the effects of radiation. Among the 15 EMs observed after IR exposure, 8 were small interstitial-deletion events restricted to the TK gene locus. However, this specific type of event was not found in unirradiated controls. Although these results were observed under the limited conditions, they strongly suggest that the LOH detection system can be used for estimating the genetic effects of a low-dose IR exposure delivered at a low-dose-rate.     

不同辐照方式对IL-4刺激的RAW264.7细胞MMP-2/9和VEGF表达的影响

目的 研究不同辐照方式对小鼠巨噬细胞系RAW264.7细胞分泌基质金属蛋白酶-2（MMP-2）、基质金属蛋白酶-9（MMP-9）和血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）的影响,为肿瘤的预后影响因素研究提供依据。方法 实验分为两个部分,第一部分用0、2、5、10 Gy X射线照射细胞24 h后给予IL-4刺激12 h,第二部分用IL-4刺激3 h后用0、2、5、10 Gy X射线照射9h,Western blot方法检测RAW264.7细胞MMP-2、MMP-9和VEGF蛋白的表达情况。结果 照射+IL-4组,随着受照剂量的增加,RAW264.7细胞MMP-2、MMP-9和VEGF表达量增加（P<0.05）,存在剂量-反应关系,并且MMP-2和VEGF存在强相关性（P<0.001）,MMP-9和VEGF也存在强相关性（P<0.001）;IL-4+照射组,随着受照剂量的增加,RAW264.7细胞MMP-2、MMP-9和VEGF表达量增加（P<0.05）,存在剂量-反应关系,并且MMP-2和VEGF存在强相关性（P<0.001）,MMP-9和VEGF也存在强相关性（P<0.001）;与照射+IL-4组比较,IL-4+照射组RAW264.7细胞MMP-2、MMP-9和VEGF的增加更显著（P<0.05）。结论 电离辐射能导致RAW264.7细胞MMP-2、MMP-9和VEGF表达增高,不同辐照方式对RAW264.7细胞MMP-2/9和VEGF表达的影响不同,本研究为肿瘤的治疗提供作用靶点。     

Effectiveness of carbon-ion beams for apoptosis induction in rat primary immature hippocampal neurons

The direct biological effects of radiation, particularly accelerated heavy particle ions, on neurons are not fully known. Hence, the direct effect of carbon-ion beams on immature neurons was investigated by comparing to the effect of X-rays in vitro using primary hippocampal neurons. Primary neurons were prepared from hippocampi of fetal rats at embryonic day 18 from timed pregnant Wistar rats and cultured with Banker's methods. At 7 Days In Vitro (DIV), the cells were irradiated with 140 kV X-ray and 18.3 MeV/amu carbon-ion beams (LET = 108 keV/μm). The cells were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde at 12 hours after irradiation. Then, the cells were treated with terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) and DAPI staining for measuring the percentage of apoptosis (apoptotic index: AI). AI in sham-irradiated hippocampal neurons was 18%. The value of AI (AIs) of the cells irradiated with X-rays at 10 or 30 Gy were 15% or 23%, respectively. AI in cells irradiated with carbon-ion beams at 1 Gy, 3 Gy, 5 Gy and 10 Gy were 22%, 23%, 24% and 33%, respectively. AI was significantly increased by carbon-ion beams at 10 Gy (p < 0.001). The apoptosis of hippocampal neurons increased in a dose-dependent manner following both X-ray and carbon-ion beams irradiation. Carbon-ion beams were about 10-fold more effective than X-rays for apoptosis induction in immature hippocampal neurons.     

乙基亚硝基脲诱导小鼠淋巴瘤细胞tk基因杂合性缺失

目的探讨tk基因分子突变的类型,对不同剂量乙基亚硝基脲（ENU）诱导小鼠淋巴瘤L5178Y3.2.7c-tk^＋/-细胞tk基因突变的杂合性缺失（LOH）进行分析,为环境致突变剂检测和突变机制研究提供依据。方法使用乙基亚硝基脲10μg/mL和100μg/mL剂量对L5178Y细胞进行梯度染毒,分别测定细胞毒性、细胞接种效率、相对存活率、相对悬浮生长率和突变频率等。挑选经ENU诱导的tk基因突变子（tk^-/-）和自发突变体,提取基因组DNA,应用等位基因特异性PCR扩增、杂合性缺失分析等技术,分析其杂合性缺失的发生。结果低剂量和高剂量诱导突变体的tk基因LOH发生率分别为73.5%和69.1%。LOH分析结果显示,诱导突变体的LOH在大集落与小集落之间差异具有显著性（P〈0.05）。结论功能性等位基因缺失是ENU诱导tk基因分子突变的重要形式之一,不同剂量可能具有不同的突变机制。     

Radiation cancer risk at different dose rates: new dose-rate effectiveness factors derived from revised A-bomb radiation dosimetry data and non-tumor doses

The dose rate of atomic bomb (A-bomb) radiation to the survivors has still remained unclear, although the dose–response data of A-bomb cancers has been taken as a standard in estimating the cancer risk of radiation and the dose and dose-rate effectiveness factor (DDREF). Since the applicability of the currently used DDREF of 2 derived from A-bomb data is limited in a narrow dose-rate range, 0.25-75 Gy/min as estimated from analysis of DS86 dosimetry data in the present study, a non-tumor dose (D_nt) was applied in an attempt to gain a more universal dose-rate effectiveness factor (DREF), where D_nt is an empirical parameter defined as the highest dose at which no statistically significant tumor increase is observed above the control level and its magnitude depends on the dose rate. The new DREF values were expressed as a function of the dose rate at four exposure categories, i.e. partial body low LET, whole body low linear energy transfer (LET), partial body high LET and whole body high LET and provided a value of 14 for environmental level radiation at a dose rate of 10⁻⁹ Gy/min for whole body low LET.     

Residual late radiation damage in mouse stromal tissue assessed by the tumor bed effect

Irradiation of murine subcutaneous stroma before implantation of tumor cells leads to retarded tumor growth. This effect is called Tumor Bed Effect (TBE) and can be used to assess the sensitivity of stromal tissue to radiation. We tested the ability of stromal tissue to recover from X-ray-induced damage as a function of the time interval between X-irradiation and implantation of tumor cells over a period of 195 days. We also assessed the effects of a second test treatment of X-irradiation before implantation to assess residual damage by the first radiation treatment. The tumor bed effect in C57Bl10xDBA2 mice observed after X-ray treatment and implantation of M8013 cells (from a transplantable mouse mammary carcinoma) declines with the time that elapses between X-rays and implantation. Implantation of tumor cells 195 days after initial irradiation of 10 or 20 Gy resulted in a considerably smaller TBE. The half-time of the decay is estimated as about 50 days. The extent of the recovery was then tested in two-fraction experiments, with radiation fractions separated by intervals of 30 or 180 days. In the experiment with re-irradiation at an interval of 30 days after the first radiation dose of 20 Gy hardly any recovery was observed, whereas at an interval of 180 days a considerable recovery was observed. We presume that the recovery in TBE that was observed a long time after the irradiation results from a proliferative stimulus to endothelial cells which takes place during the post-irradiation period. The proliferative response leads to cell death of the X-ray damaged endothelial cells and thereafter these are replaced by healthy cells.     

The combined effects of MRI and X-rays on ICR mouse embryos during organogenesis

The combined effects of X-rays and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on mouse embryos at an early stage of organogenesis were investigated. Pregnant ICR mice were irradiated on day 8 of gestation with X-rays at a dose of 1 Gy and/or MRI at 0.5 T for 1 hour. The mortality rates of the embryos or fetuses, the incidence of external malformations, the fetal body weight and the sex ratio were observed at day 18 of gestation. A significant increase in embryonic mortality was observed after exposure to either 1 Gy of X-radiation or 0.5 T MRI. However, the combined X-rays and MRI did not show a statistically significant increase in embryonic mortality compared with the control. External malformations, such as exencephaly, a cleft palate and anophthalmia, were observed in mice irradiated with X-rays and/or MRI. The incidence of each malformation in all treated groups increased with statistical significance compared with the control mice. The incidence in mice irradiated with both X-rays and MRI was lower than in mice irradiated with only X-rays. The combined effects of the combination of radiation and MRI on the external malformations might be antagonistic. There were no statistically significant differences in fetal death, fetal body weight and sex ratio among all experimental groups.     

B30-MDP, a synthetic muramyl dipeptide derivative for tumour vaccination to enhance antitumour immunity and antimetastatic effect in mice.

The effect of a muramyl dipeptide derivative (B30-MDP) on the augmentation of antitumour immunity against highly metastatic L5178Y-ML25 mouse lymphoma cells was examined in CDF1 (Balb/c x DBA/2) mice. Mice immunized with a mixture of X-irradiated tumour cells (10(3)) and B30-MDP (100 micrograms) on 7 days prior to challenge by viable tumour cells displayed a significant decrease in metastasis towards the target organs, liver and spleen, compared with that of untreated mice. Immunization of mice with the mixture on day 5 or 7 after tumour challenge, when the level of glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT) and glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) in sera of mice inoculated with viable tumour cells was observed to be normal, caused less metastasis than immunization with X-irradiated tumour cells alone. Sensitization with X-irradiated tumour cells admixed with B30-MDP induced almost two times higher cytotoxicity of spleen cells against L5178Y-ML25 lymphoma cells than sensitization with X-irradiated tumour cells without B30-MDP. In contrast, cytotoxic activity of spleen cells against another target, L1210 lymphoma cells derived from BDF1 mice, was not observed by immunization with X-irradiated L5178Y-ML25 cells with or without B30-MDP. Specific lysis by splenic cells of the immunized mice against L5178Y-ML25 cells decreased to the normal level when T cells were deleted from the immunized spleen cells by the treatment of rabbit anti-mouse Thy1.2 antibody and rabbit complement. These results indicate that B30-MDP is able to augment a specific tumour immunity due to the enhancement of cytotoxicity mediated by T lymphocytes, and is useful as an immunopotentiating agent for active immunization of inactivated tumour cells.     

Growth retardation of paramecium and mouse cells by shielding them from background radiation

In the 1970s and 1980s, Planel et al. reported that the growth of paramecia was decreased by shielding them from background radiation. In the 1990s, Takizawa et al. found that mouse cells displayed a decreased growth rate under shielded conditions. The purpose of the present study was to confirm that growth is impaired in organisms that have been shielded from background radiation. Radioprotection was produced with a shielding chamber surrounded by a 15 cm thick iron wall and a 10 cm thick paraffin wall that reduced the γ ray and neutron levels in the chamber to 2% and 25% of the background levels, respectively. Although the growth of Paramecium tetraurelia was not impaired by short-term radioprotection (around 10 days), which disagreed with the findings of Planel et al., decreased growth was observed after long-term (40-50 days) radiation shielding. When mouse lymphoma L5178Y cells were incubated inside or outside of the shielding chamber for 7 days, the number of cells present on the 6th and 7th days under the shielding conditions was significantly lower than that present under the non-shielding conditions. These inhibitory effects on cell growth were abrogated by the addition of a ¹³⁷Cs γ-ray source disk to the chamber. Furthermore, no growth retardation was observed in XRCC4-deficient mouse M10 cells, which display impaired DNA double strand break repair.     

Effect of the administration of bismuth nitrate on radiogenic thymoma induction in mice.

Metallothionein functions as a radical scavenger protecting cells from the indirect effect of radiations. We investigated the effect of bismuth nitrate, an efficient inducer of metallothionein, on acute and late effects of radiation in mice. Metallothionein contents were examined in several organs after the administration of bismuth nitrate. The content in bone marrow increased 2-fold in the treated as compared to the control mice. This treatment protected irradiated mice from bone marrow death and increased the number of endogenous spleen colonies. The metallothionein content in the ileum did not change after treatment with bismuth nitrate. Mice were not protected by bismuth nitrate when exposed to 9 Gy of X-rays. This suggests that this agent does not protect from gastrointestinal death. The incidence of X-ray-induced thymic lymphomas was lowered by the administration of bismuth nitrate in mice exposed to four fractionated doses of 1.3 Gy of X-rays. These results indicate that bismuth nitrate effectively modified both acute and late effects of X-rays by inducing metallothionein in the target tissues.     

Detection of endonuclease III- and 8-oxoguanine glycosylase-sensitive base modifications in gamma-irradiated DNA and cells by the aldehyde reactive probe (ARP) assay

Ionizing radiation generates diverse DNA lesions that differentially induce cell death and mutations. In the present study, calf thymus DNA (400 microg/ml) and HeLa cells were irradiated by (60)Co gamma-rays, and abasic (AP) sites and endonuclease (Endo)III- and 8-oxoguanine glycosylase (hOGG1)-sensitive base modifications in DNA were quantitated by the aldehyde reactive probe (ARP) assay. The irradiation of calf thymus DNA in phosphate buffer generated 91 Endo III- and 100 hOGG1-sensitive base modifications and 110 AP sites per 10(6) base pairs (bp) per Gy. The yield of the lesions in Tris buffer was 41- to 91-fold lower than that in phosphate, demonstrating a radioprotective effect of Tris. The HeLa cell chromosomal DNA contained 12 Endo III- and 3.8 hOGG1-sensitive base modifications and less than 1 AP sites per 10(6) bp as endogenous damage, and their level was increased by irradiation. The yields of the damage at 1 Gy (roughly equivalent to the lethal dose of HeLa cells [1.6-1.8 Gy]) were 0.13 Endo III, 0.091 hOGG1, and 0.065 AP sites per 10(6) bp, showing that irradiation with a lethal dose brought about only a marginal increase in base damage relative to an endogenous one. A comparison of the present data with those reported for DNA strand breaks supports the primary importance of double-strand breaks and clustered lesions as lethal damages formed by ionizing radiation.