Chemical Inhibition of Cell Recovery after Irradiation with Sparsely and Densely Ionizing Radiation

The dependence of cell survival on exposure dose and the duration of the liquid-holding recovery (LHR) was obtained for diploid yeast cells irradiated with ionizing radiation of different linear energy transfer (LET) and recovering from radiation damage without and with various concentrations of cisplatin - the most widely used anticancer drug. The ability of yeast cells to recover from radiation damage was less effective after cell exposure to high-LET radiation, when cells were irradiated without drug. The increase in cisplatin concentration resulted in the disappearance of this difference whereas the fraction of irreversible damage was permanently enlarged independently of radiation quality. The probability of cell recovery was shown to be constant for various conditions of irradiation and recovery. A new mechanism of cisplatin action was suggested according with which the inhibition of cell recovery after exposure to ionizing radiations was completely explained by the production of irreversible damage.