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Delayed Initiation of DNA Synthesis in Irradiated Human Diploid Cells

Abstract

MOST studies of the effects of ionizing radiation on the mitotic cycle in mammalian cells have been carried out with rapidly multiplying cells. In vitro systems have included primarily established cell lines or tumour cells. I describe here experiments on morphologically pure cultures of human diploid cells; these cells differ in that they were freshly explanted from normal tissue, and have a very long generation time in vitro. The initiation of DNA synthesis (as measured by thymidine incorporation) appears to be a highly radiosensitive process in these cells, the entry of cells into the synthetic phase being significantly slowed by exposures as low as 10 r. and completely blocked by those over 300 r.

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LITTLE, J. Delayed Initiation of DNA Synthesis in Irradiated Human Diploid Cells. Nature 218, 1064–1065 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/2181064a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2181064a0

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