Effects of tritiated uridine and tritiated histidine on survival of Chinese hamster cells at -196 degrees C

Abstract

Chinese hamster cells in vitro subjected to tritium disintegrations at -196 degrees C from incorporated tritiated uridine were more sensitive to decays occurring in the nucleus (Do = 1,610 decays/cell, equivalent to approximately 3.0 Gy to the nucleus) than to those occurring over the whole cell (Do = 3,240 decays/cell). A tritiated amino acid, 3H-histidine, gave a result (Do = 2,710 decays/cells) between nuclear 3H-uridine and whole cell 3H-uridine. Evidence for a tritium transmutation effect is discussed.