TIME CULTURE. AN IMPORTANT VARIABLE IN STUDYING IN VIVO RADIATION-INDUCED CHROMOSOME DAMAGE IN MAN.

Abstract

SummaryStudies have been made, on the blood of patients treated with x-rays for ankylosing spondylitis, of the effect of time after exposure on the proportion of cells in blood-cultures with unstable chromosome aberrations (Cu cells), and also of the effect of time in culture on the proportion of Cu cells.It has been found that the effect of prolonging culture time is a significant decrease in the numbers of Cu cells, and of the proportion of these that are probably in their first division since the production of radiation damage (X1 cells). It has also been found that, provided cells are harvested after about 48 hours in culture, the proportion of X1 cells remains high, even though irradiation may have taken place several years previously.The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to making observations on chromosome damage after in vivo radiation exposure, and also in regard to the problem of the life-span of lymphocytes.