Temporal and dose characteristics of nucleic acids reduction in the leucocytes of irradiated mice.

The kinetics of the changes of the nucleic acids level in the leucocytes of mice, as well as the leucocyte count were traced over a 30 day period, after a 2 Gy gamma irradiation. The changes of these parameters, which are dose-bound, were examined at the 24th and 72nd hour after irradiation with doses, belonging to the 0,1 to 6,0 Gy dose range. During the progress of the radiation damage the changes in the nucleic acids show a phase character that reaches its minimum on day 3 postradiation, with a recovery about day 30. The relation nucleic acids level/radiation dose is described with a logarithmic function. With both time intervals the nucleic acids level decreases with the logarithm of the dose, the reduction in the nucleic acids concentration being more clearly marked on day 3 postradiation. The rate of the nucleic acids level change is not adequate to that of the leucocyte count.