Unravelling the Impact of Linear Energy Transfer on Micronuclei induction from proton and photon irradiation

Charlotte Joanne Heaven*, John Warmenhoven, Amy Chadwick, Elham Santina, Jamie Honeychurch, Christine Schmidt, Karen Kirkby, Mike Merchant, Nicholas Henthorn

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Micronucleus (MN) formation has a strong link to radiation damage and is a common bio-dosimeter for acute radiation exposures. The percentage of cells containing MN (PCMN) has a strong relationship with dose, however variation between previous studies has made understanding the effect of linear energy transfer (LET) difficult. This study investigated the PCMN of seven cell lines in response to photon and proton irradiation at two different LETs (0.6 keV/ µm and 6.5 keV/ µm). MN production was scored via the cytokinesis block micronuclei assay. A linear relationship between dose and PCMN was noted for all cell lines and radiation types, with a large variability in the MN yield between cell lines. This dose-dependent increase in PCMN was independent of LET, with most cell lines showing similar responses to the radiation qualities. Overall, this data proposes a more complex relationship between dose, MN and LET.
Original languageEnglish
JournalScientific Reports
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 30 Jun 2025

Keywords

  • micronucleui
  • cytochalasin-B
  • radiotherapy
  • proton therapy
  • DNA damage

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Unravelling the Impact of Linear Energy Transfer on Micronuclei induction from proton and photon irradiation'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this