Mitotic metaphase cells from different cell lines cause different levels of expression of the alpha-form of interphase chromosome breaks in irradiated CHO cells.
We previously showed that HeLa mitotic metaphase cells, when used as inducers of premature chromosome condensation (PCC), uncover two times more chromosome breaks in irradiated interphase cells than CHO mitotic metaphase cells, and have at the same time a 2.5-fold higher mitosis promoting factor (MPF) activity. In a different set of experiments, we provided evidence that ionizing radiation induces two forms of interphase chromosome breaks, the alpha- and the beta-form, that can be discriminated from each other based on their kinetics of rejoining, their sensitivities to postirradiation treatments, and the genetic requirements of their repair. Here we demonstrate that HeLa mitotic metaphase cells increase the radiation yield of interphase chromosome breaks by specifically uncovering interphase chromosome damage of the alpha-form. Using xrs-5 cells that constitutively express chromosome breaks of the beta-form, we also show that the choice of metaphase cells does not affect the expression of the beta-form of interphase chromosome breaks. These observations add yet another qualitative and quantitative difference between alpha- and beta-forms of interphase chromosome breaks, and suggest that separation of radiation damage into two components will be helpful in the description of radiation action in living cells. The finding that different types of mitotic inducer cells give widely different yields of interphase chromosome breaks indicates that a quantitative comparison of the results obtained by different investigators should be made with caution and should consider the type of mitotic cells used.
Okayasu
R
R
Thomas Jefferson University, Department of Radiation Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19107.
Iliakis
G
G
D000818:Animals; D016466:CHO Cells; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000235:genetics*; D002460:Cell Line; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D002875:Chromosomes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D006224:Cricetinae; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008677:Metaphase; D009153:Mutagens / Q000633:toxicity*; D014740:Vidarabine / Q000633:toxicity
D009153:Mutagens; D014740:Vidarabine