Induction and repair of DNA double-strand breaks in hippocampal neurons of miсe of different age after exposure to ⁶⁰Со γ-rays in vivo and in vitro

¹ Dubna State University, Department of biophysics, 141982 Dubna, Russia
² Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna, Russia

Published online: 18 April 2018

Abstract

One of the central problems of modern radiobiology is the study of DNA damage induction and repair mechanisms in central nervous system cells, in particular, in hippocampal cells. The study of the regularities of molecular damage formation and repair in the hippocampus cells is of special interest, because these cells, unlike most cells of the central nervous system (CNS), keep proliferative activity, i.e. ability to neurogenesis. Age-related changes in hippocampus play an important role, which could lead to radiosensitivity changes in neurons to the ionizing radiation exposure. Regularities in DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) induction and repair in different aged mice hippocampal cells in vivo and in vitro under the action of γ-rays ⁶⁰Со were studied with DNA comet-assay. The obtained dose dependences of DNA DSB induction are linear both in vivo and in vitro. It is established that in young animals' cells, the degree of DNA damage is higher than in older animals. It is shown that repair kinetics is basically different for exposure in vivo and in vitro.