Dependence on radiation quality of DNA fragmentation spectra

Energy deposition by radiation initially gives rise to cellular critical lesions such as DNA doublestrand breaks (DSB), that later lead to the formation of relevant biological endpoints. Studies on fragment size distributions induced by radiations of various qualities can be of great help in linking the characteristics of radiation to cellular endpoints, providing information for understanding the main mechanisms of cell damage. Here we are concerned with the damage induced by heavy charged particles; this issue is very important in the field of radioprotection of astronauts participating in long term space missions, besides being relevant also in other fields, like hadrontherapy. Galactic Cosmic Rays contain a large component of high-LET particles (HZE), e.g. helium and carbon ions, as well as highcharge particles such as iron ions. These particles are characterized by complex track structures with energy depositions not only along the path of the primary particle, but also at relatively large distance form the path, due to the presence of high energy secondary electrons. In this work we have simulated the irradiation of human fibroblasts with γ-rays, protons, helium, carbon and iron ions at a fixed dose with the biophysical Monte Carlo code PARTRAC,and calculated the induction of DSB. The PARTRAC code includes accurate representation of the chromatin geometry and of the physical and physico-chemical processes associated with the energy deposition by radiation. The results of a first validation of the code have been reported in A. Campa et al. (2005) and D. Alloni et al. (2007a, 2007b). DNA fragment spectra were calculated based on the DSB induction patterns and compared in particular for particles of the same specific energy and for particles of the same LET. Special emphasis has been directed to the calculation of very small fragments (< 1 kbp) that are not detectable by the most common experimental techniques and that can significantly influence the RBE (Relative Biological Effectiveness) of high LET radiation. This work was partially supported by EU ("RISC-RAD" project, Contract no. FI6R-CT 2003- 508842, and "NOTE" project, Contract no. FI6R-036465) and ASI (Italian Space Agency, "Mo-Ma/COUNT" project). References A. Campa, F. Ballarini, M. Belli, R. Cherubini, V. Dini, G. Esposito, W.Friedland, S. Gerardi, S. Molinelli, A. Ottolenghi, H. G. Paretzke, G. Simone and M. A. Tabocchini. DNA DSB induced in human cells by charged particles and gamma rays: experimental results and theoretical approaches. Int. J. Radiat.Biol. 81, 841-854 (2005). D. Alloni, F. Ballarini, M. Belli, A. Campa, G. Esposito, W. Friedland, M.Liotta, A. Ottolenghi and H. G. Paretzke. Modeling of DNA fragmentation induced in human fibroblasts by 56 Fe ions. Adv. Space Res. 40, 1401-1407 (2007a). D. Alloni, F. Antonelli, F. Ballarini, M. Belli, A. Campa, V. Dini, G.Esposito, W. Friedland, M. Liotta, A. Ottolenghi, H. G. Paretzke, G. Simone, E. Sorrentino and M. A. Tabocchini. Small DNA fragments induced in human fibroblasts by 56 Fe ions: experimental data and MC simulations. Proc. "Ion Beams in biology and medicine", Heidelberg, 26-29 September 2007, edited by J. Debus, K. Henrichs, G. Kraft, p. 164 (2207b).