The cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) assay in combination with FISH technique using chromosome-specific centromeric probes for chromosome 1 and 4 was performed in mitogen stimulated human lymphocytes which were exposed to x-radiation to identify different sensitivity of chromosomes to the induction of micronuclei(MN) and aneuploidy by radiation. The frequencies of micronucleated cytokinesis-blocked(MNCB) cells and MN in binucleated lymphocytes(BN) increased with the increase in radiation dose. A significant induction of aneuploidy of chromosome 1 and 4 were found. The frequency of aneuploidy of chromosome 1 and 4 in the control were 9 per 2,000 BN cells and this increased to 47 and 71 following irradiation at a dose of 1 and 2 Gy, respectively. The induction of aneuploidy of chromosome 1 was higher than that of chromosome 4. The frequency of aneuploid BN cells with MN exhibiting positive centromere signal for either chromosome 1 and/or 4 increased in a dose dependent manner, and that for chromosome 1 is higher than that for chromosome 4. Among the total induced MN in irradiated lymphocytes, smaller proportion of MN exhibit centromeric signal of chromosome indicating that radiation-induced MN are mainly originated from chromosomal breakage rather than chromosomal non-disjunction. These results suggest that x-radiation can induce aneuploidy and supports the finding that chromosome vary in their sensitivity to aneuploidy induction by x-irradiation.
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