Radiation response of endothelial cells in vitro

There is some controversy at the moment concerning the role of stromal tissue in the pathology of late normal tissue damage after irradiation. If radiation damage to stroma does bring about late radiation effects, knowledge of the radiation response of this tissue is essential. Studies on the radiation response of cell types which make up stromal tissue are hampered by the slowly proliferating character of the tissue, and in-vivo methods analogous to the single-cell survival studies of cells such as bone marrow or intestinal crypt cells have yet to be developed. Another factor to be considered is that stroma (vascular and connective tissues) will differ in structure and hence possibly also in overall radiosensitivity according to the different requirements of the organs it supplies.