FREQUENCY OF CHROMOSOMAL ABERRATIONS AND MICRONUCLEI IN HORSE LYMPHOCYTES FOLLOWING IN VITRO EXPOSURE TO LOW DOSE IONISING RADIATION

Abstract

Ionising radiation is known to cause chromosomal instability, which is observed as increased frequency of chromosomal aberration and micronuclei. These are listed as reliable criteria in biological dosimetry. Numerous experiments conducted on both animal and plant models demonstrated that increase in radiation dosage is followed by increased mutation frequency, and that mutations occur even at the lowest exposure. We used horse blood in vitro irradiated by low doses of ionizing radiation. Cultivation of peripheral blood lymphocytes and micronucleus test were used as biomarkers of genetic damage. The observed aberrations were recorded and classified in accordance with the International System of Cytogenetic Nomenclature. Micronuclei were identified on the basis of criteria proposed by Fenech et al. (8). Analysis of chromosomal aberration showed increased frequency of aberrations in blood cultures exposed to 0,1 Gy and 0,2 Gy compared to the controls. Microscopic analysis of chromosomal damage in in vitro micronucleus test revealed that the applied radiation dose induced micronuclei while no binucleated cells with micronuclei were found in lymphocytes that were not irradiated. In this paper we analysed the influence of low dose ionising radiation on frequency of chromosomal aberration and micronuclei in horse lymphocytes following in vitro exposure to X-rays (0,1 Gy and 0,2 Gy). Key words: chromosomal aberrations, micronuclei, ionising radiation, horse lymphocytes