Figure 3.

Dose-dependent increase in γH2AX foci in the nuclei of LECs after exposure to low-dose IR. Mice were irradiated with increasing levels of IR. At 1, 3 and 24 h, animals were sacrificed, the eyes removed and the lens dissected to remove the capsule and the attached LECs, which then was flat mounted prior to staining with antibodies to γH2AX. Representative images are shown for central and peripheral regions of the lens (a). The number of foci in the nuclei of LECs in the central and peripheral regions were then counted at the different time points and plotted with respect to dose (b). At the 1 and 3 h time points, the number of foci observed was dose dependent and linear regression demonstrated significant relationships with dose. GLM ANOVA revealed significant effects of dose, time and zone (p all <0.001) together with significant interaction effects between the factors (p ≤ 0.001). Scale bars, 10 µm.