Quantitative assessment of regulatory proteins in blood as markers of radiation effects in the late period after occupational exposure.

The objective of this research was quantitative assessment of serum and membrane regulatory proteins in blood from nuclear workers as markers of radiation-induced alterations in immune homeostasis in the late period after protracted exposure of nuclear workers with different doses. The effector and regulatory lymphocytes were measured using a flow cytofluorometer in workers from the main facilities of the Mayak PA (aged ∼60 y up to 80 y) in the late period after combined exposure to external gamma-rays and internal alpha-radiation from incorporated 239Pu. The control group included non-occupationally exposed members of the Ozyorsk population matched by gender and age to the group of Mayak workers.

A repository of bio-specimens from Mayak workers exposed to protracted radiation.

A repository of bio-specimens that includes organs from 700 deceased workers employed at the first nuclear weapons facility "Mayak" and donations of blood, buccal cells, and tissues removed at the time of surgery and/or biopsy from the members of the Mayak cohort undergoing medical treatment or diagnostic procedures has been established at the Southern Ural Biophysics Institute, in Ozyorsk, Russian Federation. The autopsied tissues include formaline-preserved organs, paraffin blocks, and histology slides. For all, occupational, dosimetry, and detailed medical information is available.