Global quantification of γH2AX as a triage tool for the rapid estimation of received dose in the event of accidental radiation exposure

Publication date: Available online 29 May 2015 Source:Mutation Research/Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis Author(s): Muriel Viau , Isabelle Testard , Grace Shim , Luc Morat , Marie DelnaNormil , William M. Hempel , Laure Sabatier The phosphorylation of the H2AX histone to form γH2AX foci has been shown to be an accurate biomarker of ionizing radiation exposure. It is well established that there is a one-to-one correlation between the number of γH2AX foci and radiation-induced double strand breaks in cellular DNA, which can be translated to the received dose. However, manual counting of foci is time-consuming, and cannot accommodate high throughput analysis required to obtain rapid results for medical triage purposes in the case of large-scale accidental exposure. Furthermore, the accuracy of γH2AX measurements could potentially be compromised by delays between the time of exposure and analysis of results, as well as intercellular and inter-individual variability of this biological response. To evaluate more rapid approaches of quantifying γH2AX for use in an emergency situation, and to determine the impact of inter-individual variability, we compared two methods of global γH2AX fluorescence quantification (low magnification immunofluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry) to the well-established γH2AX foci scoring method in human primary fibroblasts. All three approaches were well correlated, indicating that global γH2AX fluorescence measurem...
Source: Mutation Research Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: research