Recent evidence suggests that genomic instability, which is an important st
ep in carcinogenesis, may be important in the effectiveness of radiation as
a carcinogen, particularly for high-LET radiations. Understanding the biol
ogical effects underpinning the risks associated with low doses of densely
ionizing radiations is complicated in experimental systems by the Poisson d
istribution of particles that ran be delivered, In this study, we report an
approach to determine the effect of the lowest possible cellular radiation
dose of densely ionizing at particles, that of a single particle traversal
. Using microbeam technology and an approach for immobilizing human T-lymph
ocytes, we have measured the effects of single alpha -particle traversals o
n the surviving progeny of cells. A significant increase in the proportion
of aberrant cells is observed 12-13 population doublings after exposure, wi
th a high level of chromatid-type aberrations, indicative of an instability
phenotype, These data suggest that instability may be important in situati
ons where even a single particle traverses human cells. (C) 2001 by Radiati
on Research Society.