Use of a biological marker in monitoring exposures among radiation workers

摘要

With the introduction of more modern nuclear technology in nuclear medicine, there is an increased possibility for radiation exposure among workers handling nuclear materials which calls for the autoradiographic assay of Albertini's mutation assay for hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HGPRT). An in vivo somatic mutation of HGPRT gene due to radiation exposure could be assessed using this protocol. Favorable growth of lymphocytes in culture requires activated fetal bovine serum (FBS) in RPMI 1640 medium. Phytohemagglutinin (PHA) specifically stimulates maximum proliferation of lymphocytes. Thioguanine, an anti proliferative agent, was used to screen for the presence of mutation at the HGPRT gene in which cells having mutation at the HGPRT gene locus survive the inhibitive condition. Twenty-three samples were analyzed from radiation (14) and non-radiation (9) workers. Mutation index values greater than 0.4 have been found to be higher among radiation workers (21%) than among non-radiation workers (11%). The study will facilitate the screening procedure for radiation workers and thus prevent overexposure to radiation among workers. (author.). 8 refs.; 4 tabs. (Atomindex citation 26:046987)