The growth cone is a structure at the terminal of a neurite that plays an important role in the growth of the neurite. The growth cone collapse assay is considered to be a useful method to quantify the effects of various factors on nerve tissue. Here, we investigated the effect of x-irradiation on growth cones and neurites and also the comparative radiosensitivity of different neurons. Dorsal root ganglia and sympathetic chain ganglion were isolated from day-8 and -16 chick embryos and cultured for 20 h. Neurons were then exposed to x-irradiation and morphological changes were quantitatively evaluated by growth cone collapse assay. Cell viability was examined using TUNEL and WST-1 assays. The results showed that radiation induced growth cone collapse and neurite retraction in a time- and exposure-responsive manner. Growth cone collapse, apoptosis and WST-1 assays showed that no significant difference between the neurons throughout the study period (p > or = 0.5) after irradiation. Both types of day-8 neurons were more radio-sensitive than day-16 neurons (p < or = 0.05). The time course of the growth cone collapse was significantly correlated with the apoptotic and cell viability responses at different irradiation doses. Growth cone collapse may represent a useful marker for assaying the effect of x-irradiation on normal cell neurons.