Repair of sublethal and potentially lethal damage in lung cells using an in vitro colony method.

The repair of radiation damage has been measured in mouse lung using an in vitro colony assay. Following a single dose of 10.5 Gy delivered to the lung in vivo, we observed, six hours after irradiation, an increase of the fraction of surviving cells, which did not change further between six and 24 hours (repair of potentially lethal damage). A similar observation was made using a split-dose method (repair of sublethal damage). The extent of radiation repair is comparable with that of other rodent cells irradiated in vivo. The significance of these results is discussed in relation to the late effects observed following irradiation of lung tissue.