Assessment of Micronuclei Frequency in the Peripheral Blood of Adult and Pediatric Patients Receiving Fractionated Total Body Irradiation.

The cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) assay is an established method for assessing chromosome damage in human peripheral blood lymphocytes resulting from exposure to genotoxic agents such as ionizing radiation. The objective of this study was to measure cytogenetic DNA damage and hematology parameters in vivo based on MN frequency in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) from adult and pediatric leukemia patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation preceded by total body irradiation (TBI) as part of the conditioning regimen. CBMN assay cultures were prepared from fresh blood samples collected before and at 4 and 24 h after the start of TBI, corresponding to doses of 1.

Fast image analysis for the micronucleus assay in a fully automated high-throughput biodosimetry system.

The development of, and results from an image analysis system are presented for automated detection and scoring of micronuclei in human peripheral blood lymphocytes. The system is part of the Rapid Automated Biodosimetry Tool, which was developed at the Center for High-Throughput Minimally Invasive Radiation Biodosimetry for rapid radiation dose assessment of many individuals based on single fingerstick samples of blood. Blood lymphocytes were subjected to the cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay and the images of cell cytoplasm and nuclei are analyzed to estimate the frequency of micronuclei in binucleated cells.