Analysis of chromosomal damage after in vivo exposure to 56Fe ions by means of mFISH and micronucleus methods Original Research Article

In this study, we examined the induction of chromosomal damage at day 7 following whole-body exposure of male CBA/CaJ mice to different doses of 1 GeV/amu 56Fe ions (0, 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 Gy) or 137Cs γ rays as the reference radiation (0, 0.5, 1.0, and 3.0 Gy, using a GammaCell40). Two cytogenetic assays were used to evaluate dose–response relationships for the induction of chromosomal damage. These include: (1) the whole-genome multi-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (mFISH) technique to examine chromosomal damage in metaphases prepared from bone marrow (BM) cells and (2) the mouse in vivo micronucleus (MN) assay to evaluate chromosomal damage (induced in the bone marrow) in blood erythrocytes. By means of the mFISH method, we detected all types of aberrations from mice exposed to either 56Fe ions or 137Cs γ rays. These were translocations (Robertsonian, reciprocal and incomplete one-way types), dicentrics and breaks (both chromatid- and chromosome-types). Each type of radiation-induced significant dose-dependent increases (ANOVA, p < 0.01) in the frequencies of chromosomal damage (including the numbers of abnormal cells). Our data indicated that the 56Fe ions were more effective (per unit dose) than 137Cs γ rays in inducing damage: about four times for abnormal cells or breaks (both chromatid- and chromosome-types), and 1.6 times for exchanges (all types). Complex chromosome rearrangements were also found in BM cells of mice exposed to 1.0 Gy of 56Fe ions or 3.0 Gy of 137Cs γ rays, but their frequencies were low. Moreover, the frequencies of complex exchanges found at day 7 after exposure of mice to 1.0 Gy of 56Fe ions or 3.0 Gy of 137Cs γ rays were similar.