Fig. 1

Use of the SAARP to examine the effect of differences in radiation field on ovarian damage. a A schematic of the experimental paradigm. Adult female mice received a single X-ray dose of 1 Gy and ovaries were harvested 2 weeks post-exposure. The Total Body Irradiation (TBI) cohort received the dose to the entire organism (n = 5). The targeted radiation cohort to both ovaries (T2) received the radiation dose to a 20 mm × 10 mm field encompassing both ovaries (n = 5). The targeted radiation cohort to one ovary (T1) received the radiation to a 10 mm × 10 mm field focused on the left ovary (n = 4). The Sham cohort underwent the same procedures as the experimental cohorts but was not irradiated (n = 3). b A representative image of how a mouse was anesthetized for immobilization in the beam field of the SARRP to target the ovaries. c A representative image that highlights the specified area of the collimating X-ray beam that was used to target the field of a single ovary. d Mouse weights were monitored 2 weeks post-exposure prior to euthanasia to examine whether there were acute health effects due to radiation. A one-way ANOVA test was performed and no differences were observed in weight between the groups (p = 0.73). e The total number of 5 μm serial sections generated per ovary was averaged and used as a proxy for ovarian size. A one-way ANOVA test was performed and no differences were observed between the groups (p = 0.68)