The effects of caffeine on the expression of potentially lethal and sublethal damage in gamma-irradiated cultured mammalian cells.

Caffeine was found to potentiate single-dose cobalt-60 γ-ray-induced lethality in human T-1 and Chinese hamster V79-79 cells when present at 2.0 to 2.5 mM for 21 to 48 hr after irradiation. In split-dose experiments, 2 mM caffeine apparently did not affect survival when present only for the 4 hr between doses. As 4 hr is sufficient time for these cells to complete sublethal damage repair it is concluded that caffeine affects the expression of potentially lethal damage but not the expression of sublethal damage.