Abstract
Synchronized Chinese hamster cell populations in vitro were X-irradiated at different stages of the cell cycle and examined at the next metaphase. Mitotic delay varied according to the stage of the cell cycle at the time of irradiation. It was greatest for cells irradiated in middle to late S, moderate for cells irradiated in G2, and least for cells irradiated in G1. It increased approximately linearly with dose (0.7 hr./1 00 rad for S cells and 0.3 hr./1 00 rad for Gt cells). Chromosomal aberration rates also depended on the stage of the cell cycle at which the cells were irradiated. Chromatid aberrations were induced mostly during G2 and S (more in early S than late S), while chromosome aberrations were induced mainly in Gt. Total breaks after 500 or 750 R showed a minimum frequency in late Sand a maximum frequency in G2. This form of response correlates, but only in a general qualitative way, with the dependence of survival on cell cycle stage previously reported. Mitotic delay has a dependence on cell cycle stage quite different from either chromosomal aberrations or survival.