X-ray sensitivity of fifty-three human diploid fibroblast cell strains from patients with characterized genetic disorders.

The in vitro response of 53 human diploid fibroblast strains to X-irradiation was studied using a clonogenic survival assay. The strains, derived from patients with a variety of characterized clinical conditions, most with a genetic component, ranged in Do (a measure of the slope of the survival curve) from 43 to 168 rads. The mean Do's of six strains from normal individuals was 140 to 152 rads, with an overall range, based on the extremes of their standard errors, of 128 to 164 rads. Three-quarters of the strains studied fell within this range. Strains identified as sensitive came from patients with ataxia telangiectasia, progeria, the two genetic forms of retinoblastoma, and partial trisomy of chromosome 13. No marked radiosensitivity was found among strains derived from patients with a number of other conditions associated with a predisposition to malignancy.