Measurement of DNA Damage and Cell Killing in Chinese Hamster V79 Cells Irradiated with Aluminum Characteristic Ultrasoft X Rays

Chinese hamster V79 cells were irradiated with 1.487 keV aluminum characteristic X rays produced using a cold-cathode discharge tube. Under aerobic conditions a relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of 2.18 for cell killing in comparison to 250-kVp X rays was measured using cells grown in suspension and irradiated on membrane filters. DNA damage in the form of single-strand (ssb) and double-strand breaks (dsb) was measured using the filter elution technique. The aerobic RBEs are 1.64 for dsb induction and 0.49 for ssb induction, consistent with the view that dsb are more closely related to cell kill than ssb. A reduced oxygen enhancement ratio (OER) for cell killing was measured for Al-K X rays, but the OER for dsb induction was similar to that measured for 250-kVp X rays. A curvilinear relationship between dsb induction and dose is observed, similar to that seen for 250-kVp X rays. This agrees with the concept that ultrasoft X rays produce critical lesions similar to hard X rays but with a greater efficiency per unit dose.