[Development of apoptosis induced by whole-body irradiation in murine liver]

Apoptosis is known to be induced by radiation. However, the correlation between radiation-induced apoptosis and radiation injury in tumors in vivo has been unclear. In this paper, we report the study of apoptosis induced by whole-body irradiation using an immunohistochemical technique to detect DNA fragmentation in murine liver. A dose of 7 Gy was employed as LD50/30. DNA fragmentation was observed 30 min after radiation, and it peaked between 1 and 6 hours. DNA fragmentation could be detected 48 hours after radiation in capillary endothelium. This study was able to reveal the development of radiation-induced apoptosis in the liver by detecting DNA fragmentation in situ.