OBJECTIVES Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is associated with repeated hypoxia and re-oxygenation. This characteristic of OSAS may cause oxidative stress and DNA damage. However, the link of OSAS with oxidative stress and DNA damage is still controversial. In the current study, we investigated whether OSAS causes DNA damage using alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay) an...

Citation: Langie SAS, Azqueta A and Collins AR (2015) The comet assay: past, present, and future. The alkaline comet assay (single cell gel electrophoresis) is the most widely used method for measuring DNA damage in eukaryotic cells (Neri et al., 2015). It detects strand breaks (SBs) and alkali-labile sites at frequencies from a few hundred to several thousand breaks per cell—a biologically use...

Genotoxic events have been known as crucial step in the initiation of cancer. To assess the risk of cancer, genotoxicity assays, including comet, micronucleus (MN), chromosomal aberration, bacterial reverse, and sister chromatid exchange assay, can be performed. Compared with in vitro genotoxicity assay, in vivo genotoxicity assay has been used to verify in vitro assay result and definitely pro...

The systematic study of genotoxicity in plants induced by contaminants and other stress agents has been hindered to date by the lack of reliable and robust biomarkers. The comet assay is a versatile and sensitive method for the evaluation of DNA damages and DNA repair capacity at single-cell level. Due to its simplicity and sensitivity, and the small number of cells required to obtain robust re...

Reactive species such as free radicals are constantly generated in vivo and DNA is the most important target of oxidative stress. Oxidative DNA damage is used as a predictive biomarker to monitor the risk of development of many diseases. The comet assay is widely used for measuring oxidative DNA damage at a single cell level. The analysis of comet assay output images, however, poses considerabl...

Phthalates are industrial chemicals widely used in many commercial applications. The general population is exposed to phthalates through consumer products as well as through diet and medical treatments. To determine whether environmental levels of phthalates are associated with altered DNA integrity in human sperm, we selected a population without identified sources of exposure to phthalates. O...