Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 24, 2026

Establishment of Proliferative Tetraploid Cells from Nontransformed Human Fibroblasts
Published on: January 8, 2017
The contribution of DNA ploidy to radiation sensitivity in human tumour cell lines
J L Schwartz1, J Murnane, R R Weichselbaum
1Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Abstract:
The contribution of DNA ploidy to radiation sensitivity was investigated in a group of eight human tumour cell lines. As previous studies suggest, while more aneuploid tumours tend to be more radioresistant, there is no significant relationship between ploidy and radiation sensitivity (SF2). The failure to observe a significant effect of ploidy on radiation sensitivity is due to the complex and multifactorial basis of radiation sensitivity. When we determined the relationship between survival and radiation-induced chromosome aberration frequency, a measure independent of most other modifiers of sensitivity, we observed a direct relationship between ploidy and mean lethal aberration frequency. The mean lethal frequency of aberrations increased from about 1 for diploid cells to about 2 for tetraploid cells. The mean lethal frequency of aberrations was independent of DNA repair variations. These observations demonstrate that changes in DNA ploidy are an important contributor to radiation sensitivity variations in human tumour cell lines. Therefore, any battery of predictive assays should include DNA ploidy measurements.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Abnormal Proliferation
DNA Damage Can Stall the Cell Cycle
DNA Damage can Stall the Cell Cycle
Other Unique Bacteria
Mutations
Chromosomal Alterations Are Large-Scale Mutations
While point mutations are changes in a single nucleotide in...
Nondisjunction

