Use of unstable chromosome aberrations for biological dosimetry after the first postirradiation mitosis

The loss of unstable chromosome aberrations after the first postirradiation mitosis makes their use difficult in radiation dosimetry. We describe here a method which, in a cell population observed at this stage, allows retrospective estimation of the frequencies of the unstable aberrations induced at the time of irradiation, and their use as a dosimeter. The laws controlling the behavior of unstable aberrations during mitosis were defined from a large-scale experiment on irradiated human lymphocytes. For cells undergoing the first, second, or third mitosis after irradiation, relationships were determined between the frequency, at irradiation time, of acentric fragments not arising from formation of dicentrics or rings, and the ratio of dicentrics and centric rings appearing without acentric fragments to the total number of dicentrics plus rings. On the basis of this ratio, the method described here provides an assessment of the postirradiation mitotic activity in a cell population. This assessment permitted estimation of the cell distribution and frequency of dicentrics plus centric rings, and of the frequency of acentric fragments at the time of irradiation. The use of this method for retrospective dosimetry after whole-body irradiation under various conditions of exposure is illustrated.