A Study on the Radiosensitivity and Induction of Adaptive Response in Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes of Patients with Secondary Immunodeficiency Syndrome

This study examined radiosensitivity to low- and high-dose exposure to X-rays in human lymphocytes and the ability of low and high radiation doses to induce radioadaptive response when peripheral blood cells from patients with secondary immune deficiency syndrome and healthy donors of different ages were irradiated in vitro. The occurrence of micronuclei in cytochalasin-blocked binucleated lymphocytes in culture served as an indication of cytogenetic damage. It was found that the spontaneous level of cytogenetic damage in blood lymphocytes of patients with secondary immune deficiency syndrome was 2.5 times greater than in healthy young and older volunteers, and there was also a substantial interindividual variability in the outcome parameters as compared to the data of control groups. There were no differences in the mean values for radiosensitivity to low- and high-dose exposure to X-rays between the groups. In all groups, no correlation was shown between the spontaneous level of micronuclei in lymphocytes and the radiosensitivity of individuals. The adaptive response was induced with the same frequency and to the same extent in lymphocytes in patients with secondary immune deficiency syndrome and in healthy donors of different ages.