THE SO-CALLED "RECOVERY" PHENOMENON AND "PROTECTION" AGAINST X-IRRADIATION AT THE CELLULAR LEVEL

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Abstract
The terms "recovery" and "protection" are defined in terms of the reactions of the unfertilized Arbacia egg to X-irradiation, using delay in insemination and presence of cysteamine as the 2 criteria. While the prior findings of Henshaw on increased cleavage following irradiation and delayed fertilization were confirmed such eggs did not "recover" in the sense that they could not develop to plutei and hence were permanently damaged. Cysteinamine counteracted the delaying effect of X-rays on cleavage, and some such "protected" eggs achieved the pluteus stage but no further. The effects of delay in insemination and cysteamine seemed to be additive, not conflicting, but neither afforded true "recovery" or "protection" in the sense of returning the eggs to the pre-irradiated state. Cystein-amine immersion of eggs after irradiation and insemination was deleterious, probably due to the anoxia caused bv the chemical agent. It is concluded that nuclear damage by X-irradiation is irrevocable and irreparable, and that neither "recovery" not "protection", properly defined, occurs at the cellular level following X-irradiation insult.