title: Comet Assay in Cancer Chemoprevention.
abstract: The comet assay can be useful in monitoring DNA damage in single cells caused by exposure to genotoxic agents, such as those causing air, water, and soil pollution (e.g., pesticides, dioxins, electromagnetic fields) and chemo- and radiotherapy in cancer patients, or in the assessment of genoprotective effects of chemopreventive molecules. Therefore, it has particular importance in the fields of pharmacology and toxicology, and in both environmental and human biomonitoring. It allows the detection of single strand breaks as well as double-strand breaks and can be used in both normal and cancer cells. Here we describe the alkali method for comet assay, which allows to detect both single- and double-strand DNA breaks.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Chemoprevention Unit, Molecular Medicine Area, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, via Elio Chianesi 53, 00144, Rome, Italy. r.santoro@activep53.eu.
authors.forename: Raffaela
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Santoro
authors.affiliation: Molecular Chemoprevention Unit, Molecular Medicine Area, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, via Elio Chianesi 53, 00144, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ferraiuolo
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Gian Paolo
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Morgano
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Juravinski Cancer Center, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, L8V 5C2.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Muti
authors.affiliation: Molecular Cancer Chemoprevention Unit, Molecular Medicine Department, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, via Elio Chianesi 53, 00144, Rome, Italy.|Department of Oncology, Juravinski Cancer Center-McMaster University Hamilton, Hamilton, ON, Canada, L8V 5C2.
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Strano
mesh_terms: D016923:Cell Death; D018890:Chemoprevention; D020552:Comet Assay / Q000379:methods*; D053903:DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded; D053904:DNA Breaks, Single-Stranded; D057054:Molecular Imaging; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013194:Staining and Labeling
keywords: Comet assay; DNA damage; DNA repair; Double-strand breaks (DSB); Genotoxic stress; Single-cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE); Single-strand breaks (SSB)