Fig. 4

Hypofractionated RT is more effective than conventional fractionated RT. a Reactive oxygen species positive cells, b single and double DNA strand breaks, c phosphorylation of DNA repair proteins H2A.X and ATM, d cell cycle phase, e LC3-mediated autophagy, f annexin V-mediated apoptosis on day 8 (72 h after the last RT fraction), and g CFU on day 14 post-irradiation. (a, b, d–g) Column graphs show mean percentage (%) ± SEM of duplicates from three independent experiments. Grey overlay shows the profile at 0 Gy. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001 vs 0 Gy determined by one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparison test. d Violin plot shows median (solid line) and interquartile range (dotted line) of tail DNA content as a percentage of total fluorescence for N = 46–55 comets per RT. **p < 0.01, ****p < 0.0001 vs 0 Gy determined by one-way Kruskal–Wallis test with Dunn’s multiple comparison test