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Updated: Jun 10, 2026
11:24
Measuring DNA Damage and Repair in Mouse Splenocytes After Chronic In Vivo Exposure to Very Low Doses of Beta- and Gamma-Radiation
Published on: July 3, 2015
Long-term cellular effects in humans chronically exposed to ionizing radiation
Galina Veremeyeva1, Igor Akushevich, Tatyana Pochukhailova
1Urals Research Center for Radiation Medicine, 68-a Vorovsky St., 454076, Chelyabinsk, Russia. gveremeyeva@gmail.com
Health Physics
|August 12, 2010
Summary
Chronic radiation exposure from the Mayak Nuclear Facility caused severe hematopoietic injury in radiosensitive individuals. These individuals showed persistent genomic instability and exhausted anti-oxidative stress mechanisms years after exposure.
Area of Science:
- Radiation Biology
- Hematology
- Genetics
Background:
- Residents of Techa riverside villages experienced chronic radiation exposure due to Mayak Nuclear Facility activities.
- Late effects of chronic, low-dose radiation exposure on hematopoietic system require investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate hematopoietic injury and recovery in chronically irradiated Techa riverside villagers.
- To evaluate late effects of chronic, low-dose radiation exposure.
Main Methods:
- Collected whole blood samples from 338 unexposed and 692 exposed individuals.
- Measured chromosome aberrations, somatic mutations (TP53 gene, CD3-CD4+cells), and biochemical markers (Cu/Zn-SOD, nitric oxide) in lymphocytes.
- Utilized the Techa River Dosimetry System (TRDS) 2000 for dose assessment (mean cumulative dose 0.62 Gy).
Main Results:
- Individuals with prior leucopenia/chronic radiation syndrome (CRS) showed increased micronuclei, dicentric chromosomes, somatic mutations, nitric oxide, and apoptosis.
- A subgroup without leucopenia/CRS exhibited background mutation levels but increased delayed cell cycles.
- Radiosensitive individuals exposed to 0.01-1.96 Gy experienced more severe late hematopoietic effects.
Conclusions:
- Chronic radiation exposure disproportionately affects radiosensitive individuals, leading to severe late hematopoietic effects.
- CRS patients exhibited activated anti-oxidative stress mechanisms, which eventually became exhausted, causing genomic instability.
- Findings highlight the long-term impact of radiation on hematopoietic system and the importance of individual radiosensitivity.
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