Purpose: To investigate if deviations from DNA-proportional distribution of radiation-induced chromosomal aberrations are individually variable.
Materials and methods: Peripheral blood lymphocytes were collected from seven healthy donors and exposed to different doses of gamma rays. Chromosomes 2, 8 and 14 were painted in different colors and aberrations scored with the help of an image-analysis system.
Results: Chromosome 2 was generally less sensitive than expected on the basis of DNA-proportional distribution and the extent of inter-donor variability was minimal. A higher than expected frequency of aberrations was found in chromosome 14 of five donors, while a higher than expected frequency of aberrations was found in chromosome 8 of two donors.
Conclusions: Inter-donor variability may explain some of the controversies regarding the inter-chromosomal distribution of radiation-induced aberrations.