DNA damage and cell killing. Cause and effect

The evidence supporting a cause and effect relationship between DNA damage and cell killing is examined in the light of what is currently known about the organization and replication of genomic DNA in eukaryotic cells and the radio-energetics of DNA breakage. A large disparity is identified between characteristic doses for cell killing and for the production of DNA lesions (i.e., single- or double-strand breaks). In contrast, the sensitive phase of the inhibition of DNA synthesis has a dependence on dose quantitatively similar to that of cell killing. A model is developed in which single- and double-strand breaks are associated with the inhibition of replicon initiation, whereas only double-strand breaks are primarily responsible for strand elongation. Furthermore, the model points to the replisome and the region of replicated DNA just downstream from the fork as the locus of radiation action