This study compared the effects of high linear energy transfer (LET) fast neutrons on the induction of apoptosis in several tissue types (hair follicle, intestine crypt, testis) of ICR mouse exposed to low LET 60Co gamma-rays. The changes that occurred from 0 to 24 h after exposing the mice to either 2 Gy of gamma-rays (2 Gy/min) or 0.8 Gy of neutrons (94 mGy/min, 35 MeV) were examined. The maximum frequency of apoptosis was observed at 8 or 12 h after irradiation. The mice that had received 0-8 Gy of gamma-rays or 0-1.6 Gy of neutrons were examined 8 h after irradiation. The best-fitting dose-response curves were linear-quadratic, and there was a significant relationship between the number of apoptotic cells and the dose. The stained products in the TUNEL-positive cells or bodies correlated with the typical morphologic characteristics of apoptosis observed by optical microscopy. In the follicles showing an apoptosis frequency between 2 and 14 per hair follicle, the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of the neutrons in the small and large follicles was 2.09 +/- 0.31 and 2.15 +/- 0.18, respectively. In the intestine crypts showing an apoptosis frequency between 1 and 3 per crypt, the RBE of the neutrons was 4.03 +/- 0.06 and 3.87 +/- 0.04 in the base and total crypts, respectively. The RBE of the neutrons in the seminiferous tubule showing an apoptosis frequency between 0.5 and 2 per tubule was 5.18 +/- 0.06. The results determined the time-response relations and the RBE for fast neutron-induced apoptosis in several organs at the same time. The differences in RBE observed between the high and low LET radiation and it is believed that the difference in the DSB repair capacity in hair follicle, intestine crypt, and seminiferous tubule cells plays a role in determining the RBE of the high-LET radiation for the induced apoptotic cell formation.