An automated flow cytometric micronucleus assay for human lymphocytes

• Published in: International journal of radiation biology Vol. 62; no. 6; p. 695
• Main Authors: Schreiber, G A, Beisker, W, Braselmann, H, Bauchinger, M, Bögl, K W, Nüsse, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 1992
• Subjects: Adult; Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; Flow Cytometry - methods; Gamma Rays; Humans; In Vitro Techniques; Lymphocytes - radiation effects; Micronucleus Tests - methods; Software
• ISSN: 0955-3002
• DOI: 10.1080/09553009214552651

A new flow cytometric method is presented for scoring micronuclei (MN) in human lymphocytes after in vitro gamma-irradiation. Fifty to fifty-five hours after PHA-stimulation, the frequency of micronuclei per nucleus and the fraction of cells in the second cell cycle were measured using flow cytometry. All data were automatically analysed using our DAS-software package. Eight individual linear-quadratic dose response curves derived from five donors revealed inter- and intra-individual variabilities of all curve parameters. Since also an age dependence was found for spontaneous MN-frequencies and for the linear curve parameter, a combined linear-quadratic age-dose-effect model was used to fit the data. The 90% prediction intervals show that a reliable individual dose estimation for donors aged between 23 and 54 years cannot be achieved for exposures below 1 Gy.