Abstract
Background. It is a point of discussion whether low-dose ionizing radiation has harmful or stimulating impact on cell. According to high relative biological effectiveness of neutron radiation there is a need of description of any process triggered in the cell by neutrons. Objective. The aim of current work is the investigation of the low dosed neutron radiation effects on human cells by indicators of cell stress such as state of chromatin and cell membrane permeability. Materials and methods. Human buccal epithelium cells from 3 male donors (21, 24, 25 years old) were exposed to fast neutron radiation in dose range 2.3–146.0 mSv from 239Pu-Be source. State of chromatin was evaluated by count of heterochromatin granules quantity in 100 nuclei stained with 2% orcein in 45% acetic acid; ratio of cells with increased membrane permeability stained with 5 mM indigocarmine in 300 cells. Results. Changes in level of heterochromatin granules quantity and in cell membrane permeability revealed wave-shaped dependency with maximum effects at 36.5 mSv. Further increase of dose resulted in return of both chromatin state and membrane permeability levels closely to control or even lower. Conclusion. Membrane restoration and chromatin decompaction under doses higher than 36.5 mSv together can be a sign of hormetic (stimulating) effect of low-dose neutron radiation.
Highlights
The study of the of neutron radiation influence on biological objects is of great interest both when used in medicine and to study the mechanisms of the biological effect of corpuscular ionizing radiation on different types of tissues and to establish the link between biological response and the functional activity of cells.The process of cell stress development in response depends on both type and intensity of the radiation
State of chromatin was evaluated by count of heterochromatin granules quantity in 100 nuclei stained with 2% orcein in 45% acetic acid; ratio of cells with increased membrane permeability stained with 5 mM indigocarmine in 300 cells
Further increase of dose resulted in return of both chromatin state and membrane permeability levels closely to control or even lower
Summary
The study of the of neutron radiation influence on biological objects is of great interest both when used in medicine and to study the mechanisms of the biological effect of corpuscular ionizing radiation on different types of tissues and to establish the link between biological response and the functional (proliferative) activity of cells.The process of cell stress development in response depends on both type and intensity of the radiation. In general the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of neutron radiation is counted as about 2–20 times higher than the one for X- or γ-rays according to kind and energy range of particles [1], [2]. At the same time there is information about weak influence of neutron radiation on patients’ survivability [6]. It is a point of discussion whether low-dose ionizing radiation has harmful or stimulating impact on cell. According to high relative biological effectiveness of neutron radiation there is a need of description of any process triggered in the cell by neutrons
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