Induction, repair and biological relevance of radiation-induced DNA lesions in eukaryotic cells.

This report summarizes data on the induction, repair and biological relevance of five types of radiation-induced DNA lesions for which repair kinetic studies have been performed in eukaryotic cells by various laboratories. These lesions are: DNA-protein crosslinks, base damage, single-strand breaks, double-strand breaks and bulky lesions (clustered base damage in the nm-range). The influence of various factors, such as oxia/anoxia, linear energy transfer of the radiation used, incubation medium, cell cycle stage, thiol content, hyperthermia, on the induction and repair of these lesions is described. Radiation-sensitive cell lines are also included.