No abstract

In cases of an accidental overexposure to ionizing radiation, it is essential to estimate the individual absorbed dose of a potentially radiation-exposed person. For this purpose, biological dosimetry can be performed to confirm, complement or even replace physical dosimetry when this proves to be unavailable. The most validated biodosimetry techniques for dose estimation are the dicentric chromosome assay, the "gold standard" for individual dose assessment, and cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay. However, both assays are time consuming and require skilled scorers. In case of large-scale accidents, different strategies have been developed to increase the throughput of cytogenetic service laboratories. These are the decrease of cell numbers to be scored for triage dosimetry; the automation of procedures including the scoring of, for example, aberrant chromosomes and micronuclei; and the establishment of laboratory networks in order to enable mutual assistance if necessary. In this study, the authors compared the accuracy of triage mode biodosimetry by dicentric chromosome analysis and the cytokinesis block micronucleus assay performing both the manual and the automated scoring mode. For dose estimation using dicentric chromosome assay of 10 blind samples irradiated up to 6.4 Gy of x-rays, a number of metaphase spreads were analyzed ranging from 20 up to 50 cells for the manual and from 20 up to 500 cells for the automatic scoring mode. For dose estimation based on the cytokinesis block micronucleus assay, the micronucleus frequency in both 100 and 200 binucleated cells was determined by manual and automatic scoring. The results of both assays and scoring modes were compared and analyzed considering the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of dose estimation with regard to the discrimination power of clinically relevant binary categories of exposure doses.

In the last decades, technological development has led to an increasing use of devices and systems based on microwave radiation. The increased employment of these devices has elicited questions about the potential long-term health consequences associated with microwave radiation exposure. From this perspective, biological effects of microwave radiation have been the focus of many studies, but the reported scientific data are unclear and contradictory. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential genotoxic and cellular effects associated with in vitro exposure of human fetal and adult fibroblasts to microwave radiation at the frequency of 25 GHz. For this purpose, several genetic and biological end points were evaluated. Results obtained from comet assay, phosphorylation of H2AX histone, and antikinetochore antibody (CREST)-negative micronuclei frequency excluded direct DNA damage to human fetal and adult fibroblasts exposed to microwaves. No induction of apoptosis or changes in prosurvival signalling proteins were detected. Moreover, CREST analysis showed for both the cell lines an increase in the total number of micronuclei and centromere positive micronuclei in exposed samples, indicating aneuploidy induction due to chromosome loss.

The applications of Terahertz (THz) technologies have significantly developed in recent years, and the complete understanding of the biological effects of exposure to THz radiation is becoming increasingly important. In a previous study, we found that THz radiation induced genomic damage in fetal fibroblasts. Although these cells demonstrated to be a useful model, exposure of human foetuses to THz radiation is highly improbable. Conversely, THz irradiation of adult dermal tissues is cause of possible concern for some professional and nonprofessional categories. Therefore, we extended our study to the investigation of the effects of THz radiation on adult fibroblasts (HDF). In this work, the effects of THz exposure on HDF cells genome integrity, cell cycle, cytological ultrastructure and proteins expression were assessed. Results of centromere-negative micronuclei frequencies, phosphorylation of H2AX histone, and telomere length modulation indicated no induction of DNA damage. Concordantly, no changes in the expression of proteins associated with DNA damage sensing and repair were detected. Conversely, our results showed an increase of centromere-positive micronuclei frequencies and chromosomal nondisjunction events, indicating induction of aneuploidy. Therefore, our results indicate that THz radiation exposure may affect genome integrity through aneugenic effects, and not by DNA breakage. Our findings are compared to published studies, and possible biophysical mechanisms are discussed. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 59:476-487, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay in peripheral blood lymphocytes is one of the best standardized and validated techniques for individual radiation dose assessment. This method has been proposed as an alternative to the dicentric chromosome assay, which is considered the "gold standard" in biological dosimetry because it requires less time and cytogenetic expertise. Nevertheless, for application as a biodosimetry tool in large-scale nuclear or radiological accidents, the manually performed cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay needs further strategies (e.g., the automation of micronucleus scoring) to speed up the analysis. An essential prerequisite for radiation dose assessment is to establish a dose-effect curve. In this study, blood samples of one healthy subject were irradiated with seven increasing doses of x-ray (240 kVp, 1 Gy min⁻¹) ranging from 0.25-4.0 Gy to generate calibration curves based on manual as well as on automated scoring mode. The quality of the calibration curves was evaluated by determination of the dose prediction accuracy after the analysis of 10 blood samples from the same donor exposed to unknown radiation doses. The micronucleus frequencies in binucleated cells were scored manually as well as automatically and were used to assess the absorbed radiation doses with reference to the respective calibration curve. The accuracy of the dose assessment based on manual and automatic scoring mode was compared.