Biological dosimeter for cellular damage and repair by ionizing radiation. Final technical progress report, May 1, 1993 - April 30, 1996

The authors have investigated the alteration of chromatin domains in Human T and B cells after ionizing radiation using three DNA specific dyes, Feulgen, Hoechst and 7-amino actinomycin D. Characterization and differentiation of T and B cells was accomplished using only 4 of a possible 32 image features with the CAS and Quaritex QX7 Digital Image Systems. Human B and T cells were irradiated with 1, 5 and 10 Gy and analyzed during a 1.5 hour recovery period. The chosen features detect a dose dependent change in DNA domains which can be observed as early as 1.5 hours after a 1Gv exposure. The results suggest that the ability of DNA specific dyes to stain chromatin can be used as an early sensitive indicator of DNA damage. The observed alteration of chromatin staining suggests that chromatin structure does observably change in a significant manner during a DNA repair interval. Since these alteration can be detected with DNA specific dyes that stain both AT rich, GC rich or total DNA, these data suggest that a global alteration of the chromatin is occurring after exposure to ionizing radiation