title: Microsatellite mutations in the offspring of irradiated parents 19 years after the Cesium-137 accident.
abstract: In September of 1987, a radiotherapy unit containing 50.9 TBq of Cs(137)Cl was removed from an abandoned radiotherapy clinic. This unit was subsequently disassembled leading to the most serious radiological accident yet to occur in the Western hemisphere. This event provides an opportunity to assess the genetic effects of ionizing radiation. We surveyed genetic variation of 12 microsatellite loci in 10 families of exposed individuals and their offspring and also in non-exposed families from the same area of Goias state. We found an increase in the number of new alleles in the offspring of the exposed individuals. The mutation rate was found to be higher in the exposed families compared to the control group. These results indicated that exposure to ionizing radiation can be detected in offspring of exposed individuals and also suggest that the elevated microsatellite mutation rate can be attributed to radioactive exposure.
authors.affiliation: Secretaria Estadual de Saúde de Goiás, Superintendência Leide das Neves Ferreira, Laboratório de Citogenética Humana e Genética Molecular (LaGene), Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil.
authors.forename: Aparecido Divino
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: da Cruz
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: de Melo e Silva
authors.forename: Cláudio Carlos
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.forename: R John
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Lígia Maria
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: Eduardo Rocha
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Pedrosa
authors.forename: Jivago Carneiro
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Jayme
authors.forename: Maria Paula
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Curado
mesh_terms: D032721:Adult Children; D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D018095:Germ-Line Mutation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018811:Maternal Exposure; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D010290:Parents; D018812:Paternal Exposure; D011839:Radiation, Ionizing; D011847:Radioactive Fallout; D018788:Radioactive Hazard Release
chemical_list: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D011847:Radioactive Fallout