ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Multifraction irradiation may contribute to radiation therapy treatment failure if selection of radiation resistant subpopulations occurs. We sought to determine whether surviving cells following daily fraction irradiation of two human cervical squamous cell carcinoma lines would express different radiation survival characteristics compared to the unirradiated parent. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A late-passage line (HTB35) and an early-passage line (RECA) received daily 2 Gy x-irradiation. Two new stable HTB35 cell lines were established after 40 and 60 Gy (HTB35-40 and HTB35-60). A single line was established from RECA after 30 Gy (RECA-30). High dose rate (74 cGy/min) acute radiation survival curves were prepared from the three new lines and the unirradiated parents. Potentially lethal damage repair (PLDR) and sublethal damage repair (SLDR) responses were detailed for HTB35, HTB35-40 and HTB35-60. Low dose rate (1.27 cGy/min) survival was measured for HTB35 and HTB35-60. Clones were derived from HTB35 and from HTB35-60 and the surviving fraction at 2 Gy (SF2) values were determined. RESULTS: The two parent lines (HTB35 and RECA) differed in acute radiation survival. The surviving lines following multifraction irradiation (HTB35-40, HTB35-60, and RECA-30) showed no change in acute radiation response compared to the appropriate parent. HTB35-40 and HTB35-60 were repair proficient, demonstrating similar PLDR and SLDR recovery ratios as the parent. Likewise, acute, low dose rate survival of HTB35 and HTB35-60 was similar. Nine clones derived from HTB35 lacked a consistent difference in SF2 compared to the original culture. A single clone of seven derived from HTB35-60 was consistently radiation resistant (SF2 = 0.81 +/- 0.06) compared to the original culture (SF2 = 0.50 +/- 0.09). CONCLUSION: No evidence was obtained that cell lines generated following multiple daily fractions of x-irradiation in vitro possessed acute radiation survival or repair characteristics that were different from the unirradiated parent.
