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Results for “Radiosensitivity”

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At least 667 records · Page 37Linked to original sources

PubMed1995

Abrogation of the G2 checkpoint results in differential radiosensitization of G1 checkpoint-deficient and G1 checkpoint-competent cells.

We have examined the effect of abrogation of the G2 checkpoint on the radiosensitivity of G1 checkpoint-proficient and G1 checkpoint-deficient cells. A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cells were transduced with the E6 oncogene of the human papillomavirus type 16 to eliminate their radiation-induced G1 arrest. These E6+ cells exhibited a dose-dependent increase in radiation resistance compared to control A549 cells transduced with the vector alone. Treatment (96 h) with 2 mM caffeine resulted in an abrogation of the cellular G2 checkpoint in both E6+ and control cells and a differential radiosensitizing effect on the two cell lines such that the E6+ clones and the vector controls became equally radiosensitive. These data show that human tumors which are radioresistant due to the loss of the p53-mediated G1 checkpoint can be made radiosensitive by abrogation of the G2 checkpoint. The implications of these results for cancer therapy are discussed.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed1994

Radiosensitivity of human cell lines to small doses. Are there some clinical implications?

The concept of intrinsic radiosensitivity is now strongly associated with the linear-quadratic (LQ) model which is currently the best and the most reliable method to fit the first three decades of a survival curve for both human fibroblast and human tumor cell lines. This approach has led to the major conclusions that it is the initial part, and not the distal part, of the survival curve which truly characterizes intrinsic cellular radiosensitivity and there is a correlation between the parameters describing mainly the initial part of the survival curve (alpha, SF2, D) and the clinical radioresponsiveness. More accurate analysis with flow cytometry or a dynamic microscopic image processing scanner (DMIPS) has allowed further study of the survival curve which has shown two sorts of substructure. On one hand, the overall survival curve of exponentially growing cells is described by two or more sets of alpha, beta parameters (heterogeneity in radiosensitivity due to the cell cycle). On the other hand, hypersensitivity at very low doses (< 0.5 Gy) followed by an increase of the radioresistance of the whole population at higher doses has also been observed. This phenomenon is not described by the conventional LQ model and has been interpreted as an induced radioresistance which seems to be negatively correlated with intrinsic radiosensitivity. In clinical radiotherapy, there are two sorts of response of normal tissues: (1) the early and late damage and (2) the carcinogenesis. Concerning the first point, the clinically detectable radiation damage appears at doses usually around 20 Gy (in 2-Gy fractions) with the exception of the hemopoietic and the lymphatic tissues. Therefore, the small doses delivered at the edges or in the penumbrae of treatment fields in routine radiotherapy cannot create detectable damage, despite a potentially much higher effect per unit dose, because the total doses are still very small. However, it may be important to bear in mind the possible extra effect of low doses outside the target volume if regions in the vicinity are subsequently retreated. Concerning clinical radiation-induced carcinogenesis, three studies described a higher relative risk associated with small doses per fraction or very low dose rate. The results and the interpretation of these studies are discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed1993

[Synergetic radiosensitizing effect of isomers S-8932 and S-8933 in vitro].

The synergetic radiosensitizing effect of isomers S-8932 and S-8933 on HeLa-S3 cell-line was investigated in vitro using cell colony forming assay. The results suggested that the combined use of the two isomers showed a lower cytotoxicity than their single use. The ID50 was 55.3 mM. Their synergetic radiosensitizing effect on HeLa-S3 cells under hypoxic condition was higher than either one used alone. The SER of the combined one at 4mM was 1.98 (D0 ratio) and 1.79 (D9 ratio) indicating a sensitizing effect at both low and high radiation doses. The type of the synergetic radiosensitization of the two compounds indicates that they are radiosensitizers of "alpha-beta" type according to the analysis of their molecular models. If the two isomers are used in combination in fractionation radiotherapy, less number of fraction and larger dose per fraction should be selected in the scheme of treatment.

Cell Survival↗

PubMed1995

[In vitro effects of piracetam on the radiosensitivity of hypoxic cells (adaptation of MTT assay to hypoxic conditions)].

This paper describes the adaptation of the MTT assay to hypoxic conditions in order to test the in vitro effect of piracetam on hypoxic cells and particularly on the radiosensitivity of hypoxic cells since this drug has shown clinical effect on acute and chronic hypoxia. The V79 cell line was selected by reference to preliminary hypoxic experiments using clonogenic assay and euoxic experiments using clonogenic and MTT assays. Cell growth and survival in our hypoxic conditions were assessed using MTT assay with an enclosure and special 48-well plates both made of glass. Growth curves on glass versus reference polystyrene plates were comparable and confirm the validity of using special glass plates. Growth curves on glass plates after 1-hour exposure to nitrogen versus air were comparable, so there is no bias effect due to gas composition. Survival curves using MTT versus reference clonogenic assay were comparable after radiation exposure in eu- and hypoxic conditions, and confirm the validity of our original technique for creating hypoxia. The Oxygen Enhancement Ratio was of about 3 for 1-hour hypoxic exposure. Piracetam gave no cytotoxic effect up to 10 mM of piracetam. Growth curves after continuous drug exposure and 1-hour euoxic versus hypoxic exposure gave no cytotoxic effect up to 10 mM of piracetam. Survival curves after continuous drug exposure to 10 mM of piracetam gave no significant effect on the radiosensitivity of hypoxic V79 cells using MTT or clonogenic assay. However, this does not preclude a potential in vivo effect of piracetam on the radiosensitivity owing to its action on microcirculation and its rheologic properties. The adaptation of the MTT assay to hypoxic irradiation conditions yields the easy screening of radiosensitizing drugs: shorter incubation, semi-automatic method and simultaneous analysis with different serial concentrations thanks to the special 48-well glass plates.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Fibroblast radiosensitivity in vitro and lung fibrosis in vivo: comparison between a fibrosis-prone and fibrosis-resistant mouse strain.

Radiation-induced pneumonitis and fibrosis in the lung after treatment to the thoracic cavity for malignant disease currently limit the maximum tolerated dose to that region. It has been suggested that heterogeneity in susceptibility to radiation-induced fibrosis exists in the population, implying that the lung tolerance dose is defined by a sensitive subset of the patient population. Studies of radiotherapy patients have indicated that the survival at 2 Gy (SF2) of cultured skin fibroblasts correlates with the incidence and severity of postirradiation damage in a number of tissues, suggesting that this assay may be a useful predictor of late tissue effects. The goal of the studies presented here was to determine if the radiosensitivity of fibroblasts in vitro isolated from mouse lungs was correlated with the severity of radiation-induced fibrosis in the lungs of two inbred strains of mice previously shown to differ markedly in their susceptibility to radiation-induced lung fibrosis: the C3Hf/Kam strain, classified as fibrosis-resistant, and the C57BL/6J strain, classified as fibrosis-prone. Quantitative measurements of lung fibrosis after irradiation were compared to SF2 values for fibroblasts of skin and lung cultured from each strain. Lung fibrosis was quantified, using computerized image analysis, as the percentage of fibrosis on Masson's Trichrome-stained lung sections from both strains after single doses of radiation to the thorax. For the measurements of SF2, fibroblasts plated at the second passage and grown to confluence were given single doses of radiation ranging from 0 to 6 Gy. Survival curves were constructed and SF2 values obtained from a linear-quadratic fit to the data. The radiosensitivity of fibroblasts from the lung and skin of SCID mice was determined and served as a positive control. The percentage of radiation-induced lung fibrosis was significantly different between the two strains, 5.1% and 0.2% in the C57 strain and C3H strain, respectively. Follow-up of long-term survivors (two mice) from the C3H strain did not change this conclusion. However, the lung fibroblast SF2 for the C57BL/6J strain (fibrosis-prone), 0.50 +/- 0.03, was not statistically different from the C3Hf/Kam strain (fibrosis-resistant), 0.55 +/- 0.07. These data indicate that in vitro radiosensitivity of lung fibroblasts as assayed by survival at 2 Gy does not correlate with the development of lung fibrosis in this mouse model. The SF2 for lung fibroblasts from SCID mice was 0.10. Similar SF2 values were obtained for both the C3Hf/Kam mouse lung and skin fibroblasts, 0.55 and 0.56, respectively, and C57BL/6J mouse lung and skin fibroblasts, 0.50 and 0.52, respectively, indicating that the radiosensitivity of fibroblasts isolated from lung and skin within a strain is the same.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Surface expression of GD3 disialogangliosides in human melanoma cells is correlated to both metastatic potential in vivo and radiosensitivity in vitro.

With an experimental model of spontaneous lung metastases of melanoma developed in this laboratory, 7 sublines (variants and clones) with different metastatic potential and ganglioside expression were established from a single human melanoma cell line M4Be. Clones and variants derived from M4Be have been characterized at their surface by their gangliosides expression that were determined by flow cytometry with monoclonal antibodies. Gangliosides are membrane glycolipids containing sialic acid. Using an in vitro clonogenic assay and provided that cells were cultured for no more than 5 passages, variations in the cellular radiosensitivity of M4Be and of the 7 sublines were detected. This study shows that the lower the expression of GD3 disialoganglioside at the cell surface, both the higher their radiosensitivity in vitro and their metastatic potential in vivo. These results suggest that highly metastatic human melanoma cells are radiosensitive and deficient in surface gangliosides. Strengthening of this hypothesis arise from experiments showing that the incubation of radiosensitive cells with exogenous ganglioside significantly increases their radioresistance in vitro and reduces their metastatic potential in vivo.

Cell Membrane↗

PubMed1997

A versatile and rapid assay of radiosensitivity of peripheral blood leukocytes based on DNA and surface-marker assessment of cytotoxicity.

We describe a rapid assay to predict intrinsic radiosensitivity of normal tissues based on the radiation-induced cytotoxic response of a number of types of white blood cells. Twenty-four hours after irradiation, leukocytes were prepared for analysis by flow cytometry. Radiation-induced cytotoxicity was characterized by degradation of internucleosomal DNA, which results in a reduced G1/G0-phase DNA peak. Clear differences in the radiosensitivity of five of six different types of leukocytes were observed. Significant increases in cytotoxicity were observed even at 0.5 Gy, indicating the technique may be useful as a biological dosimeter after radiation accidents. Based on data from 12 healthy blood donors, significant inter-donor differences in radiosensitivity were observed after exposure to 2 or 8 Gy of high-dose-rate X rays. Inter-donor variation was significantly greater than intra-donor variation for both CD4 and CD8 T lymphocytes (P < 0.01), and the technique yielded adequate data to stratify donors based on the radiosensitivities of these two cell types alone, requiring less than 1 ml of blood. The assay is a general assay of early cytotoxic response to radiation-induced damage and should be useful when assaying the response to chemotherapy as well.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Inhibition of phosphoinositide 3-kinase related kinases by the radiosensitizing agent wortmannin.

Members of the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase related kinase (PIKK) family function in both cell cycle progression and DNA damage-induced cell cycle checkpoints. The fungal metabolite, wortmannin, is an effective radiosensitizer that irreversibly inhibits certain members of the PIKK family. Based on their roles in DNA damage responses, several PIKKs, DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK), ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and the ataxia- and Rad3-related protein (ATR), are potential targets for the radiosensitizing effect of wortmannin. In this report, we demonstrate that wortmannin is a relatively potent inhibitor of DNA-PK (IC50, 16 nM) and ATM (IC50, 150 nM) activities, whereas ATR activity is significantly less sensitive to this drug (IC50, 1.8 microM). In intact A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells, wortmannin inhibited both DNA-PK and ATM at concentrations that correlated closely with those required for radiosensitization. Furthermore, pretreatment of A549 cells with wortmannin resulted in radioresistant DNA synthesis, a characteristic abnormality of ATM-deficient cells. These results identify wortmannin as an inhibitor of ATM activity and suggest that ATM and DNA-PK are relevant targets for the radiosensitizing effect of this drug in cancer cells.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed1997

Delayed radiosensitization of human colon carcinoma cells after a brief exposure to 2',2'-difluoro-2'-deoxycytidine (Gemcitabine).

We have shown that 2',2'-difluoro-2'-deoxycytidine (dFdCyd; Gemcitabine), a deoxycytidine analogue, is a potent radiation sensitizer when cells are exposed to it continuously for >16 h in low concentrations (in the range of 10 nM). However, the most common method of clinical administration is by short-term infusion (30-90 min). Therefore, we wished to determine under what conditions dFdCyd could produce radiosensitization after a relatively brief exposure to drug. We hypothesized that the long half-life of the phosphorylated metabolites of dFdCyd would produce long-lasting dNTP pool perturbation, particularly dATP pools, leading to radiosensitization hours or even days after the drug was removed from the medium. We tested this hypothesis by exposing HT29 human colon cancer cells for 2 h to clinically relevant concentrations of dFdCyd, removing the drug from the medium, and assessing radiation sensitivity up to 72 h later. We found that 100 nM dFdCyd, which was noncytotoxic, radiosensitized HT29 cells up to 48 h after drug removal. During this period, there was an increase in the S phase population, whereas by 72 h after drug removal, the cell cycle distribution resembled that seen under control conditions. dATP pools remained depleted throughout the 72-h period after drug treatment. This study supports the hypothesis that radiosensitization occurs in cells that are replicating DNA in the presence of perturbed dNTP pools. Furthermore, they may be useful in the design of rational clinical trials using dFdCyd as a radiation sensitizer.

Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic↗

PubMed1995

Effects of 5'-aminothymidine and leucovorin on radiosensitization by iododeoxyuridine in human colon cancer cells

We examined the effects of two biochemical modulators, 5'-aminothymidine (5'-AdThd) and leucovorin (LV), on the in vitro incorporation of iododeoxyuridine (IdUrd) into DNA and its subsequent radiosensitization in two human colon cancer cell lines, HT 29 and HCT 116. 5'-AdThd is a modulator of thymidine kinase activity while LV is an essential cofactor for thymidylate synthase activity. In HT 29 cells, the combination of 5'-AdThd (10 &mgr;m) and IdUrd (1-10 &mgr;m) resulted in a significant increase in IdUrd triphosphate pools and in IdUrd-DNA incorporation. Coadministration of LV (10 &mgr;m) with IdUrd (1-10 &mgr;m) resulted in a significant decrease in thymidine triphosphate pools and a comparable increase in IdUrd-DNA incorporation as the combination of 5'-AdThd + IdUrd. The increase in radiosensitization by clonogenic survival with either combination was a direct linear function with the percentage of IdUrd-DNA incorporation. For HCT 116 cells, however, the results were different. While 5'-AdThd + IdUrd resulted in an increase in IdUrd triphosphate and percentage of IdUrd-DNA incorporation, significant cytotoxicity was noted. The radiosensitivity of HCT 116 cells treated with 5'-AdThd + IdUrd was not a linear function above 25% IdUrd-DNA incorporation. Also, no increase in IdUrd-DNA incorporation or radiosensitization was observed with LV + IdUrd although LV enhanced the decrease in thymidine triphosphate pools by IdUrd treatment. These results indicate heterogeneity in the response of different colon cancer cells to these modulators which may be related to the regulation of deoxynucleotide metabolic enzymes.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1982

Ocular absorption and toxicity of a radiosensitizer and its effect on hypoxic cells.

The recurrence of retinoblastoma after radiation treatment may be related to hypoxic cell radioresistance. Radiosensitizing drugs acting on hypoxic cells without affecting the response of oxygenated cells could improve treatment of ocular tumors while minimizing complications of radiotherapy. A desmethyl derivative of misonidazole is as effective a radiosensitizer as misonidazole (as measured in vitro) and is better suited to ocular administration, since it is more soluble than misonidazole. We studied the ocular toxic effects of a desmethyl derivative of misonidazole after subconjunctival administration of 140 and 70 mg. The higher dose produced an intolerable ocular toxic effect, but at the lower dose, the toxic effect was moderate and reversible. We compared ocular pharmacokinetics of the desmethyl derivative of misonidazole after subconjunctival and intravenous (IV) injections. Subconjunctival administration yielded vitreous and anterior chamber concentrations of the radiosensitizer sufficient to produce a notable dose-modifying effect (as high as 1.8 in the anterior chamber and 1.25 in the vitreous at 70-mg doses). In contrast, even at doses of 140 mg, IV injections of the desmethyl derivative of misonidazole did not result in therapeutically useful ocular levels.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

UT-MUC-1, a new mucoepidermoid carcinoma cell line, and its radiosensitivity.

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma is a fairly common malignant disease of the salivary glands. It is usually composed of two cell types, mucus-producing mucous cells and cells that have squamous differentiation with or without keratinization. The treatment of choice is considered to be radical surgical removal of the tumor. Radiotherapy has been recommended for high-grade or advanced tumors. Information on the radiosensitivity of mucoepidermoid cancer is scant, but based on clinical experience, the cancer appears to be only moderately radiosensitive. UT-MUC-1 is a newly established cell line from a poorly differentiated mucoepidermoid carcinoma. The cell line is diploid, but with complex karyotype abnormalities, giving a similar DNA index when measured with flow cytometry as that from the original tumor, and produces a tumor with characteristics typical for mucoepidermoid cancer when heterotransplanted to nude mice. The cell line is radiation resistant, with an area under the curve of 2.30 + 0.21 Gy when measured with a 96-well plate clonogenic assay. This correlates with the clinical outcome of the patient and the clinical experience of the radiosensitivity of this tumor type.

Aged↗

PubMed1999

Potentiation of cytotoxicity and radiosensitization of (E)-2-deoxy-2'-(fluoromethylene) cytidine by pentoxifylline in vitro.

(E)-2'-deoxy-2'-(fluoromethylene) cytidine (FMdC), a novel inhibitor of ribonucleotide-diphosphate reductase, has been shown to have anti-tumor activity against solid tumors and sensitize tumor cells to ionizing radiation. Pentoxifylline (PTX) can potentiate the cell killing induced by DNA-damaging agents through abrogation of DNA-damage-dependent G2 checkpoint. We investigated the cytotoxic, radiosensitizing and cell-cycle effects of FMdC and PTX in a human colon-cancer cell line WiDr. PTX at 0.25-1.0 mM enhanced the cytotoxicity of FMdC and lowered the IC50 of FMdC from 79 +/- 0.1 to 31.2 +/- 2.1 nM, as determined by MTT assay. Using clonogenic assay, pre-irradiation exposure of exponentially growing WiDr cells to 30 nM FMdC for 48 hr or post-irradiation to 0.5 to 1.0 mM PTX alone resulted in an increase in radiation-induced cytotoxicity. Moreover, there was a significant change of the radiosensitization if both drugs were combined as compared with the effect of either drug alone. Cell-cycle analysis showed that treatment with nanomolar FMdC resulted in S-phase accumulation and that such an S-phase arrest can be abrogated by PTX. Treatment with FMdC prior to radiation increased post-irradiation-induced G2 arrest, and such G2 accumulation was also abrogated by PTX. These results suggest that pharmacological abrogation of S and G2 checkpoints by PTX may provide an effective strategy for enhancing the cytotoxic and radiosensitizing effects of FMdC.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

PubMed1997

Potential indicators of radiosensitivity in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Recently, attention has focused on the potential of oncogenes, tumour suppressor genes, and assessment of cell proliferation as biological response indicators in human cancer. In this study, immunocytochemical analysis was used to evaluate the usefulness of Ki67, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFr), and the protein products of c-Myc and Bcl-2 as indicators of radiosensitivity in primary cultures of head and neck tumours. Primary cultures established from tumours taken at surgery were divided into two groups; the control group remained untreated, and the treatment group received a single dose of 2 Gy. The cultures were incubated for 14 days, after which time they were fixed and examined immunocytochemically. The response to treatment of the cultures was measured as the percentage of growth inhibition (%GI) in the treated cultures relative to the untreated controls. Expression of Ki67 measured after a single dose of 2 Gy significantly differentiated the radioresistant and radiosensitive groups (P = 0.045); high percentages of Ki67+ cells correlated with radioresistance. A significant difference was found between the expression of EGFr in the resistant and sensitive groups, as measured in control cultures and after a dose of 2 Gy (P = 0.002 and P = 0.03, respectively); high levels of expression of EGFr correlated with radioresistance. The level of expression c-Myc+ cells, as measured in control cultures, significantly distinguished the radiosensitive group from the radioresistant group (P = 0.05). These results indicate a potential role for these proteins as indicators of radioresistance.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗

PubMed1984

Radiosensitizing effect of medroxyprogesterone acetate on endometrial cancer cells in vitro.

From clinical experience it is known that medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) can increase the radiosensitivity of adenocarcinomas of the corpus uteri. This study investigates this phenomenon in vitro. Primary explants of highly differentiated adenocarcinomas were irradiated with or without pretreatment with MPA and compared with an untreated control group and to a group treated with MPA only. Cell culture itself was performed on an agarose medium in order to prevent overgrowth by fibroblasts. Untreated samples formed 43 +/- 5 clones, explants treated with MPA only produced 39 +/- 5 clones, a difference which was not statistically different; samples irradiated without pretreatment produced 16 +/- 8 and samples after combined treatment 9 +/- 3 clones (all values means +/- SD). This numeric reduction of cell growth through preirradiation treatment with MPA was statistically significant. The effect of MPA as a radiosensitizer may be due to its potential to prolong the radiosensitive G2 phase of the cell cycle. This effect of MPA may be useful also in other hormone-dependent tumors.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed1995

Lack of radiosensitization after paclitaxel treatment of three human carcinoma cell lines.

BACKGROUND: Several recent studies have suggested radiosensitizing effects of paclitaxel, a microtubular inhibitor. To test the universality of this finding, the interaction between paclitaxel and radiation treatment of cell lines derived from three common human carcinomas MCF-7 (breast cancer); DUT-145 (prostate cancer); and HT-29 (colon cancer) was evaluated. The study focused on the ability of paclitaxel to block cells at the G2-M phase of the cell cycle and potentially enhance the radiation sensitivity of the cells. METHODS: All cell lines were exposed to three different clinically achievable paclitaxel concentrations ranging from 2 nM to 25 nM. Paclitaxel pretreatment for 12 and 24 hours before radiation was tested in all three cell lines. The radiation dose ranged from 0 to 8 Gy delivered in a single fraction. Cellular survival after treatment with paclitaxel and/or radiation was determined by clonogenic assay. Cell cycle distribution as determined by flow cytometry was performed after various dose-time combinations of paclitaxel. RESULTS: Cytotoxicity studies with paclitaxel alone demonstrated a time-dependent and dose-dependent survival relationship for all three cell lines. Resultant surviving fractions were in the range of 5 to 90% after 24-hour exposure to paclitaxel alone. The interaction between paclitaxel and radiation was primarily additive in each of the three cell lines for all paclitaxel dose-time combinations studied. Flow cytometric analysis failed to reveal a prominent G2-M block in all three cell lines after paclitaxel treatment for 24 hours. CONCLUSIONS: Paclitaxel lacked a radiosensitizing effect on MCF-7, DUT-145, and HT-29 cells in this study. These results should be considered when designing clinical trials that use paclitaxel as a potential radiosensitizer of certain human carcinomas.

Breast Neoplasms↗

PubMed1992

Heterogeneity in ataxia-telangiectasia: classical phenotype associated with intermediate cellular radiosensitivity.

We identified a subgroup of ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) patients (2 sibs and 1 unrelated case) characterized by typical clinical manifestations of the disease and cellular radiosensitivity intermediate between classical AT and normal subjects. Our data and a literature review of the intermediate radiosensitivity AT cases show that radioresistant DNA synthesis, cellular radiosensitivity (measured in terms of survival and chromosome breakage), and the clinical hallmarks behave independently. This raises a number of interesting questions about the correlation between radiobiological and clinical features, and about the nature of the AT gene(s).

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Prediction of radiosensitivity in human bladder cell lines using nuclear chromatin phenotype.

BACKGROUND: Nuclear texture analysis measures phenotypic changes in chromatin distribution within a cell nucleus, while the alkaline Comet assay is a sensitive method for measuring the extent of DNA breakage in individual cells. The authors aim to use both methods to provide information about the sensitivity of cells to ionizing radiation. METHODS: The alkaline Comet assay was performed on six human bladder carcinoma cell lines and one human urothelial cell line exposed to gamma-radiation doses from 0 to 10 Gy. Nuclear chromatin texture analysis of 40 features was then performed in the same cell lines exposed to 0, 2, and 6 Gy to explore if nuclear phenotype was related to radiation sensitivity. RESULTS: Comet assay results demonstrated that the cell lines exhibited different levels of radiosensitivity and could be divided into a radiosensitive and a radioresistant group at >6 Gy. Using stepwise discriminant analysis, a subset of important nuclear texture features that best discriminated between sensitive and resistant cell lines were identified A classification function, defined using these features, correctly classified 81.75% of all cells into their radiosensitive or radioresistant groups based on their pretreatment chromatin phenotype. Posttreatment chromatin changes also varied between cell lines, with sensitive cell lines showing a relaxed chromatin conformation following radiation, whereas resistant cell lines exhibited chromatin condensation. CONCLUSIONS: The authors conclude that the alkaline Comet assay and nuclear texture methodologies may prove to be valuable aids in predicting the response of tumor cells to radiotherapy.

Cell Line↗