[The effects of chronic radiation exposure on the frequency of mutations at minisatellite DNA loci in residents of the Techa Riverside Villages].

The frequency of mutations at eight minisatellite DNA loci (B6.7, CEB1, CEB15, CEB25, CEB 36, MS1, MS31 and MS32) in peripheral blood cells were assessed for exposed residents of the Techa riverside villages as a function of individual exposure doses. The frequency of minisatellite mutations was found to be significantly higher in male gametes than in female ones; no clear-cut dose-effect relationship was traced. There was no evidence of dependence of mutation frequency on exposure dose rates in the year of conception, the offspring's intrauterine red bone marrow dose and soft tissues doses.