Folkard Melvyn, Prise Kevin M, Grime Geoff, Kirkby Karen, Vojnovic Borivoj
Gray Cancer Institute, University of Oxford, PO Box 100, Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood HA6 2JR, UK.
Appl Radiat Isot. 2009 Mar;67(3):436-9. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2008.06.015. Epub 2008 Jun 22.
The micro-irradiation technique continues to be highly relevant to a number of radiobiological studies in vitro. In particular, studies of the bystander effect show that direct damage to cells is not the only trigger for radiation-induced effects, but that unirradiated cells can also respond to signals from irradiated neighbours. Furthermore, the bystander response can be initiated even when no energy is deposited in the genomic DNA of the irradiated cell (i.e. by targeting just the cytoplasm).