Correlation between cell survival and micronuclei-induction in HeLa cells treated with adriamycin after exposure to various doses of γ-radiation

The effect of 10 mu g/ml of adriamycin (doxorubicin) post-treatment was studied in HeLa cells exposed to 0, 0.5, 1, 2 and 3 Gy of gamma radiation. The survival of HeLa cells declined in a dose dependent manner in both irradiation + PBS and irradiation + ADR groups. Treatment of adriamycin immediately after irradiation resulted in a significant decline in the cell survival. The surviving fraction of HeLa cells reduced to 0.61 after exposure to 0.5 Gy in the irradiation + ADR group, whereas a similar effect (i.e. surviving fraction of 0.61) was obtained for 3 Gy in the irradiation + PBS group. In contrast, the frequency of micronuclei increased in a dose dependent manner in both irradiation + PBS and irradiation + ADR groups. A significant elevation in the frequency of micronuclei was observed in the latter when compared with the former group. The dose response for both groups was linear quadratic. The cell proliferation indices also showed a dose dependent decline in both the groups. The decline in the cell proliferation was significantly higher in the irradiation + ADR group when compared with the irradiation + PBS group. A close correlation between the cell survival and micronuclei induction was observed in both groups, where the cell survival declined with the elevation in the micronuclei frequency. The relationship between cell survival and micronuclei induction was linear quadratic. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.