Insight into sites

Spatial factors conditioning the formation of radiation-induced chromosome exchange aberrations are reviewed, and concepts such as ‘rejoining distance’ and ‘site’ are re-examined in the light of the unexpectedly high frequencies of multi-break (‘Complex’) exchanges being revealed by FISH painting. Given the anticipated densities of dsb within a nucleus, and assuming random 3-D break distribution, nearest-neighbour analysis indicates that the most likely break interaction distance is a well defined shell, several hundred nm from each break. The sharpness with which this shell is defined increases with break density, and therefore with dose. It is argued that random movement and chance meeting over such distances will not account for the Complex frequencies observed, and that other factors, or modes of formation, must be invoked.