skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Dose-dependent misrejoining of radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks in human fibroblasts: Experimental and theoretical study for high and low LET radiation

Journal Article ·
OSTI ID:842998

Misrejoining of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) was measured in human primary fibroblasts after exposure to X-rays and high LET particles (He, N and Fe) in the dose range 10-80 Gy. To measure joining of wrong DNA ends, the integrity of a 3.2 Mbp restriction fragment was analyzed directly after exposure and after 16 hr of repair incubation. It was found that the misrejoining frequency for X-rays was non-linearly related to dose, with less probability of misrejoining at low doses than at high doses. The dose dependence for the high LET particles, on the other hand, was closer to being linear, with misrejoining frequencies higher than for X-rays particularly at the lower doses. These experimental results were simulated with a Monte-Carlo approach that includes a cell nucleus model with all 46 chromosomes present, combined with realistic track structure simulations to calculate the geometrical positions of all DSBs induced for each dose. The model assumes that the main determinant for misrejoining probability is the distance between two simultaneously present DSBs. With a Gaussian interaction probability function with distance, it was found that both the low and high LET data could be fitted with an interaction distance (sigma of the Gaussian curve) of 0.25 {micro}m. This is half the distance previously found to best fit chromosomal aberration data in human lymphocytes using the same methods (Holley et al. Radiat. Res . 158, 568-580 (2002)). The discrepancy may indicate inadequacies in the chromosome model, for example insufficient chromosomal overlap, but may also partly be due to differences between fibroblasts and lymphocytes. Although the experimental data was obtained at high doses, the Monte Carlo calculations could be extended to lower doses. It was found that a linear component of misrejoining versus dose dominated for doses below 1 Gy for all radiations, including X-rays. The calculated relative biological efficiency (RBE) for misrejoining at this low dose region was 31 for the He-ions, 28 for the N-ions and 19 for Fe-ions.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Director. Office of Science. Office of Biological and Environmental Research; National Institutes of Health Grant CA80207, U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA Specialized Center of Research and Training in Radiation Health
DOE Contract Number:
AC03-76SF00098
OSTI ID:
842998
Report Number(s):
LBNL-56641; R&D Project: 43GP01; TRN: US200516%%1222
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Journal Publication Date: 05/2005
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English