Cytogenetic Abnormalities in Lymphocytes from Victims Exposed to Cobalt-60 Radiation

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Jia Cao¹  Jing Zhang³  Yan Wang¹  Li Qing Du¹  Chang Xu¹  Qin Wang¹  Jian Xiang Liu²  Xu Su²  Fei Yue Fan¹  Qiang Liu¹ 

[1] Institute of Radiation Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin 300192, China; E-Mails:;National Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety, Chinese Centre for Disease Control, Beijing 100088, China; E-Mails:;Tianjin Third Central Hospital, Tianjin 300170, China; E-Mail:

关键词: radiation accident;    chromosome aberration;    micronucleus assay;    comet assay;    DNA-DSB;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms140917525

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The present study investigates cytogenetic damage in lymphocytes, derived from three victims who were unfortunately exposed to cobalt-60 (⁶⁰Co) radiation (the 1999 accident occurred in a village in China’s Henan province). Case A of the three victims was exposed to a higher dose of ⁶⁰Co radiation than Cases B and C. The chromosomal aberrations, cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN, the CBMN assay), and DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs, the comet assay) examined in this study are biomarkers for cytogenetic abnormalities. After the lymphocytes collected from the victims were cultured, the frequencies of dicentric chromosomes and rings (dic + r) and CBMN in the first mitotic division detected in the lymphocytes of Case A were found to be substantially higher than in Cases B and C. Similarly, the DNA-DSB level found in the peripheral blood collected from Case A was much higher than those of Cases B and C. These results suggest that an acutely enhanced induction of the ⁶⁰Co-induced cytogenetic abnormality frequency in humans depends on the dose of ⁶⁰Co radiation. This finding is supported by the data obtained using practical techniques to evaluate early lymphoid-tissue abnormalities induced after exposure to acute radiation.

【 授权许可】

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© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland