ADAPTIVE RESPONSE IN HUMAN-LYMPHOCYTES CONDITIONED WITH HYDROGEN-PEROXIDE BEFORE IRRADIATION WITH X-RAYS

Cultured human lymphocytes were first exposed to a low 'conditioning' dose of hydrogen peroxide and, subsequently, irradiated with a 'challenge' dose of 1.5 Gy of X-rays in order to analyse the induction of an adaptive response to oxidative damage. A significant reduction in X-rays-induced chromosome damage was evident when H2O2was given as a single 30 min pulse 24 h after setting up the cultures and the lymphocytes were exposed to X-rays at 48 h. In contrast, when the cells underwent a repeated exposure to H2O2 before irradiation the yield of aberrations was that expected from the combined treatment. © 1990 Oxford University Press.