Failure of 1100 Rads of X-Radiation to Affect Ciliogenesis and Centriolar Formation in Cultured Rat Lungs

The development of both rudimentary cilia and the ciliated epithelial border has been studied in organ cultures of rat lungs that have absorbed 1100 rads of X-radiation 24 hours after explantation. The radiation was administered 1 to 5 days before the appearance of the earliest precursors. No delay was observed in the appearance of the ciliated border, and no reduction in the number of cilia was seen in the irradiated cultures as compared to controls. Electron micrographs demonstrated that ciliogenesis proceeded normally both from centrioles present at the time of irradiation (rudimentary cilia) and from basal bodies still unformed when the X-rays were given (the ciliated border). Apparently basal body formation and maturation progress normally even though the cell is irradiated with a dose that leads to proliferative failure.