Lack of genomic instability in bone marrow cells of SCID mice exposed whole-body to low-dose radiation

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2013 Apr 2;10(4):1356-77. doi: 10.3390/ijerph10041356.

Abstract

It is clear that high-dose radiation is harmful. However, despite extensive research, assessment of potential health-risks associated with exposure to low-dose radiation (at doses below or equal to 0.1 Gy) is still challenging. Recently, we reported that 0.05 Gy of 137Cs gamma rays (the existing limit for radiation-exposure in the workplace) was incapable of inducing significant in vivo genomic instability (measured by the presence of late-occurring chromosomal damage at 6 months post-irradiation) in bone marrow (BM) cells of two mouse strains, one with constitutively high and one with intermediate levels of the repair enzyme DNA-dependent protein-kinase catalytic-subunit (DNA-PKcs). In this study, we present evidence for a lack of genomic instability in BM cells of the severely combined-immunodeficiency (SCID/J) mouse (which has an extremely low-level of DNA-PKcs activity) exposed whole-body to low-dose radiation (0.05 Gy). Together with our previous report, the data indicate that low-dose radiation (0.05 Gy) is incapable of inducing genomic instability in vivo (regardless of the levels of DNA-PKcs activity of the exposed mice), yet higher doses of radiation (0.1 and 1 Gy) do induce genomic instability in mice with intermediate and extremely low-levels of DNA-PKcs activity (indicating an important role of DNA-PKcs in DNA repair).

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bone Marrow Cells / radiation effects*
  • Cesium
  • Chromosome Aberrations / radiation effects
  • DNA Damage / radiation effects*
  • Genomic Instability*
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, SCID
  • Radiation Dosage

Substances

  • Cesium