Relative biological effectiveness of 280 keV neutrons for apoptosis in human lymphocytes.

The relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of neutrons varies from unity to greater than ten depending upon neutron energy and the biological endpoint measured. In our study, we examined apoptosis in human lymphocytes to assess the RBE of low energy 280 keV neutrons compared to Cs gamma radiation and found the RBE to be approximately one. Similar results have been observed for high energy neutrons using the same endpoint. As apoptosis is a major process that influences the consequences of radiation exposure, our results indicate that biological effect and the corresponding weighting factors for 280 keV neutrons may be lower in some cell types and tissues.