The rate of DNA synthesis in normal human and ataxia telangiectasia cells after exposure to X-irradiation.

The rate of DNA synthesis was studied in normal cell strains and in strains from patients suffering from the inherited disorder ataxia telangiectasia (AT). After exposure to relatively low doses of oxic X-rays (0-4 krad) DNA synthesis was depressed in AT cell strains to a significantly lesser extent than in normal cells. This response was observed in both an "excision-deficient" and an "excision-proficient" strain. In contrast, there was no difference in DNA-synthesis inhibition between AT and normal cells after UV exposure. After X-irradiation of cells from patients with xeroderma pigmentosum, both complementation group A and XP variants, the observed rate of DNA synthesis was equal to that in normal cells. An exception was the strain XP3BR which has been shown to be X-ray-sensitive. This strain exhibited diminished DNA synthesis inhibition after X-ray doses below 1 krad. These data suggest a relationship between hypersensitivity to X-rays and diminished depression of DNA synthesis.