H. Zhang et Kt. Wheeler, RADIATION-INDUCED DNA-DAMAGE IN TUMORS AND NORMAL-TISSUES .2. INFLUENCE OF DOSE, RESIDUAL DNA-DAMAGE AND PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTORS IN OXYGENATED CELLS, Radiation research, 140(3), 1994, pp. 321-326
Detection and quantification of hypoxic cells in solid tumors is impor
tant for many experimental and clinical situations. Several laboratori
es, including ours, have suggested that assays which measure radiation
-induced DNA strand breaks and DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs) might be
used to detect or quantify hypoxic cells in tumors and normal tissues.
Recently, we demonstrated the feasibility of using an alkaline elutio
n assay that measures strand breaks and DPCs to detect and/or quantify
hypoxic cells in tissues. For this approach to be valid, DPCs must no
t be formed to any great extent in irradiated oxygenated cells, and th
e formation and repair of strand breaks and DPCs in oxygenated cells m
ust not be modified appreciably by physiological factors (e.g. tempera
ture, pH and nutrient depletion) that are often found in solid tumors.
To address these issues, two sets of experiments were performed. In o
ne set of experiments, oxygenated 9L cells in tissue culture, subcutan
eous 9L tumors and rat cerebella were irradiated with doses of 15 or 5
0 Gy and allowed to repair until the residual strand break damage was
low enough to detect DPCs. In another set of experiments, oxygenated e
xponentially growing or plateau-phase 9L cells in tissue culture were
irradiated with a dose of 15 Gy at 37 or 20 degrees C, while the cells
were maintained at a pH of either 6.6 or 7.3. DNA-protein crosslinks
were formed in oxygenated cells about 100 times less efficiently than
in hypoxic cells. In addition, temperature, pH, nutrient depletion and
growth phase did not appreciably alter the formation and repair of st
rand breaks or the formation of DPCs in oxygenated 9L cells. These res
ults support the use of this DNA damage assay for the detection and qu
antification of hypoxic cells in solid tumors.