Interferon alpha reduces the level of radiation-induced micronuclei in mouse bone marrow cells

The effect of natural mouse interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) on production of micronuclei (MN) in bone marrow cells of whole-body gamma-irradiated mice (in sublethal dose of 0.5 Gy from 60Co source) was studied. It was shown that free interferon alpha (IFN-alpha(F)) and IFN-alpha encapsulated into liposomes (IFN-alpha(L)), when injected intraperitoneally to mice prior to their irradiation, reduced substantially the frequency of gamma-ray-induced micronuclei in polychromatic erythrocytes (MN-PCE) of the bone marrow of these mice. The antimutagenic effect of IFN-alpha(F), as registered by the micronucleus test, was observed in bone marrow cells of mice irradiated 24 h after injection. For IFN-alpha(L), the decrease in MN frequency in PCE of mice was observed 48-72 h after administration of the preparation.