REVIEW ON COMET ASSAY: A RELIABLE TOOL FOR ASSESSING DNA DAMAGE IN ANIMAL MODELS

The Comet assay has found worldwide acceptance for detecting DNA damage and repair in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. The variability in the results of the Comet assay is largely due to its sensitivity and minor differences in the conditions of various laboratories as well as the effect of confounding factors in human studies. The limitation of the Comet assay is that it only detects DNA damage in the form of strand breaks. It is therefore required that the in vitro and in vivo testing is conducted according to the Comet assay guidelines and appropriately designed multi-laboratory international validation studies be carried out. In vivo Comet assay has been accepted as the first-tier screening assay for assessment of DNA damage in rodents by the Committee on Mutagenicity, united kingdom, and international validation studies are underway supported by ECVAM, Japanese Centre for Validation of Alternative Methods, United State Interagency Coordinating Committee on Validation of Alternative Methods, United State National Toxicology Program Interagency Centre for Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods, and Japanese Environmental Mutagen Society.