单细胞凝胶电泳技术

单细胞凝胶电泳(single cell gel electrophoresis assay,SCGE)也叫彗星试验,是一种快速、敏感、简便的细胞DNA损伤检测技术。章简要介绍了SCGE的原理、主要技术流程及其注意事项、存在问题与发展前景。     

用单细胞凝胶电泳技术检测粉纹夜蛾5BI细胞DNA损伤的研究

为了探测昆虫细胞的DNA损伤,本实验应用单细胞凝胶电泳技术,对不同剂量的过氧化氢和甲醛引起的粉纹夜蛾5BI细胞DNA损伤效应进行了研究,结果表明59μM=10μM、150μM的过氧化氢能引起粉纹夜蛾5BI细胞的DNA断裂,且断裂程度和浓度水平之间成正相关关系;10μM、30μM、50μM的甲醛能引起粉纹夜蛾5BI细胞DNA损伤,其中在10μM时引起DNA断裂,在30μM、50μM时引起DNA交联。     

重金属诱导拟南芥原生质体DNA损伤的单细胞凝胶电泳检测

以拟南芥原生质体为实验体系,研究不同浓度的3种重金属离子对拟南芥原生质体的毒性和DNA损伤的差异。结果表明,用1-5mmol·L^-1的Zn^2＋、Cd^2＋和Cu^2＋分别处理的拟南芥原生质体,2小时内活力逐渐下降,并表现出明显的浓度依赖性：与相同浓度的Cd^2＋和Cu^2＋相比,Zn^2＋对拟南芥原生质体活力的影响程度较小,表现出较低的毒性。单细胞凝胶电泳检测发现,用0．1-0．8mmol·L^-1的Zn^2＋、Cd^2＋和Cu^2＋分别处理拟南芥原生质体30分钟,以OTM值表示的原生质体DNA损伤量随重金属离子浓度的增加而递增：相同浓度（0．5mmol·L^-1）的3种重金属离子相比,Zn^2＋对原生质体的遗传毒性明显低于Cu^2＋和Cd^2＋。综合原生质体活力和DNA损伤的单细胞凝胶电泳检测结果,发现ZnO^2＋对拟南芥原生质体的遗传毒性较低,而CdO^2＋和Cu^2＋的遗传毒性较高。本研究建立的拟南芥原生质体实验体系,结合运用单细胞凝胶电泳技术,能够快速、灵敏地检测重金属对植物细胞的遗传毒性。     

重金属诱导拟南芥原生质体DNA 损伤的单细胞凝胶电泳检测

以拟南芥原生质体为实验体系, 研究不同浓度的3种重金属离子对拟南芥原生质体的毒性和DNA损伤的差异。结果表明, 用1-5 mmol.L-1的Zn2+、Cd2+ 和Cu2+分别处理的拟南芥原生质体, 2 小时内活力逐渐下降, 并表现出明显的浓度依赖性;与相同浓度的Cd2+ 和Cu2+ 相比, Zn2+对拟南芥原生质体活力的影响程度较小, 表现出较低的毒性。单细胞凝胶电泳检测发现,用0.1-0.8 mmol .L-1的Zn2+、Cd2+ 和Cu2+ 分别处理拟南芥原生质体30 分钟, 以OTM值表示的原生质体DNA损伤量随重金属离子浓度的增加而递增; 相同浓度(0.5 mmol.L-1)的3种重金属离子相比, Zn2+对原生质体的遗传毒性明显低于Cu2+ 和Cd2+。综合原生质体活力和DNA损伤的单细胞凝胶电泳检测结果, 发现Zn2+对拟南芥原生质体的遗传毒性较低, 而Cd2+ 和Cu2+的遗传毒性较高。本研究建立的拟南芥原生质体实验体系, 结合运用单细胞凝胶电泳技术, 能够快速、灵敏地检测重金属对植物细胞的遗传毒性。     

单细胞凝胶电泳技术及在土壤生态毒理学中的应用

单细胞凝胶电泳技术又称为彗星实验,是最近几年发展起来的一种快速、简单、灵敏、可靠的检测细胞核DNA损伤的技术。总结了近几年来单细胞凝胶电泳技术的发展、原理、方法及其应用,并指出其下一步的发展趋势。彗星实验中,镶嵌于琼脂糖中的细胞核在电场中向正极移动,因细胞核与DNA片段迁移速率不同,而形成类似“彗星”的图像。目前采用的彗星实验有多种,可以检测诸如DNA双链断裂、单链断裂、碱不稳定位点等多种类型的DNA损伤。碱性彗星实验因其高灵敏度而被广泛采用。彗星实验的主要步骤包括细胞核悬浮液的获得、彗星电泳胶板制备、细胞裂解、DNA变性解旋、电泳、中和、染色和观察等。目前彗星实验广泛应用于各个研究领域,近年来开始用于环境污染的基因毒性研究和生物监测,并取得了迅速发展。     

碱性凝胶电泳定量测定非标记DNA的单链断裂

DNA单链断裂(Single Strand Breaks,SSB)的测定是研究DNA损伤与修复的重要检测方法之一。用碱性琼脂糖凝胶电泳测定SSB的最早报告见于1979年,但直到1986年才由Freeman推导出相应的定量计算公式,此后该方法被广泛应用。该法除不需同位素标记和操作简单快捷外,还能够进行定     

单细胞凝胶电泳联合原子力显微镜观测UVB诱导的细胞DNA损伤模式变化

目的：检测UVB诱导的真核细胞DNA损伤。方法：采用单细胞凝胶电泳与原子力显微镜。结果：不同照射剂量的UVB引起的真核细胞DNA损伤模式不同。在0～20J／m2照射剂量范围内DNA无损伤;在20--360J／m2照射剂量范围内DNA损伤程度加快;当照射剂量超过360J／m2时DNA损伤速度减慢,实验组之间无显著性差异,出现“平台”。原子力显微镜的观察结果表明随着UVB照射剂量的增加,DNA结构的变化经历了断裂、交联与断裂并存的损伤增强趋势。当照射能量达到280J／m2时细胞DNA大都形成断片,并相互交联在一起。这一结果表明彗星电泳检测到的UVB照射剂量达到一定剂量后,DNA损伤出现”平台”的原因可能是此时DNA发生了链内或链间交联。结论：不同照射剂量的UVB造成的细胞DNA损伤模式不同;原子力显微镜是一种比较直观的观测DNA损伤的方法。借助原子力显微镜我们可以深入了解单细胞凝胶电泳检测的原理,为DNA损伤检测提供更优良的检测手段。     

单细胞微凝胶电泳技术在人血淋巴细胞DNA损伤研究中的应用

介绍了单细胞微凝胶电泳(SCG)技术的原理和操作过程,并应用该技术研究了γ-线照射、过氧化氢(H_2O_2)、氯化镉(CdCl_2)对人血淋巴细胞DNA的损伤效应。结果表明,γ-线照射、H_2O_2和CdCl_2均能引起细胞DNA迁移长度增加,且呈显著的剂量效应关系。对未处理对照细胞DNA迁移的原因及SCG实验操作过程中应注意的事项也进行了讨论。     

用脉冲电场凝胶电泳检测电离辐射所致哺乳动物细胞DNA双链断裂

 本文将反向交变电场和六角形电极电场这两种脉冲电场凝胶电泳技术应用于X线照射小鼠乳癌细胞SR-1所致DNA双链断裂的检测,在本实验条件下,用这种电泳都能检测到低至1.5Gy照射所产生的DNA双链断裂,并且用六角形电极电场电泳获得了DNA双链断裂程度与照射剂量之间的良好线性关系,此外,还用此方法观察了不同浓度自由基清除剂DMSO对X线照射SR-1细胞所致DNA双链断裂的保护作用,结果进一步证实本方法的可靠性。     

单细胞凝胶电泳技术操作方法介绍

单细胞凝胶电泳技术是一种测定和研究单个细胞DNA链断裂的新电泳技术。具有简便、快速、灵敏、样品量少、无需放射性标记等特点。介绍其实验方法并就细胞悬液和胶板的制备,裂解、解旋和电泳,中和和染色,图像分析等操作步骤和方法予以介绍。     

紫外辐射诱导植物叶片DNA损伤敏感性差异

单细胞凝胶电泳（彗星检测,cometassay）技术已广泛应用于动物细胞DNA损伤检测,但在植物细胞DNA损伤检测中的应用尚不多见。本研究通过对动物细胞彗星检测方法的改进,利用植物细胞原生质体作为材料,研究了不同发育期九里香（Murraya panicuata）叶片对UV-B诱导的DNA损伤的敏感性差异。彗星检测结果表明,九里香叶片DNA的损伤程度与UV-B辐射的剂量呈正相关：在相同UV—B辐射剂量下,九里香幼嫩叶片比成熟叶片的DNA损伤量大,表明其幼嫩叶片对UV-B辐射的敏感性比成熟叶片高。     

Assessment of DNA damage in sperm after repeated non‐invasive sampling in zebrafish Danio rerio

Repeated non‐invasive sampling of zebrafish Danio rerio sperm was conducted, sperm counts were obtained and a method for measurement of DNA damage in sperm was developed and validated (single‐cell gel electrophoresis, comet, assay). DNA damage in sperm increased with concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂, 0–200 µM), and in vitro exposure of sperm to 200 µM H₂O₂ produced 88·7 ± 3·9% tail DNA compared to unexposed controls [12 ± 0·7% tail DNA (mean ± s.e ., n = 3)]. Frequency of sperm sampling (sampled every 2, 4 or 7 days) did not affect DNA damage in sperm, but sperm counts decreased 57 and 22% for fish sampled every 2 or 4 days, respectively.     

Single cell gel electrophoresis assay (comet assay): its importance in human biology

The estimation of genetic instability by direct extent of DNA damage and repair is an important aspect of studies on mutagenesis, carcinogenesis, aging and evolution. Different methods have been introduced from time to time in an effort to meet this need. Single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) assay is a new, simple and sensitive method of evaluating DNA damage and repair at individual cell level. This assay can be performed on extremely small number of cells and results can be obtained within a relatively short time. The SCGE assay has the potential to play an important role not only in the understanding of some of the fundamental aspects of human biology but also can be helpful in many practical ways. For reprint requests.     

CometChip: A High-throughput 96-Well Platform for Measuring DNA Damage in Microarrayed Human Cells

DNA damaging agents can promote aging, disease and cancer and they are ubiquitous in the environment and produced within human cells as normal cellular metabolites. Ironically, at high doses DNA damaging agents are also used to treat cancer. The ability to quantify DNA damage responses is thus critical in the public health, pharmaceutical and clinical domains. Here, we describe a novel platform that exploits microfabrication techniques to pattern cells in a fixed microarray. The ‘CometChip’ is based upon the well-established single cell gel electrophoresis assay (a.k.a. the comet assay), which estimates the level of DNA damage by evaluating the extent of DNA migration through a matrix in an electrical field. The type of damage measured by this assay includes abasic sites, crosslinks, and strand breaks. Instead of being randomly dispersed in agarose in the traditional assay, cells are captured into an agarose microwell array by gravity. The platform also expands from the size of a standard microscope slide to a 96-well format, enabling parallel processing. Here we describe the protocols of using the chip to evaluate DNA damage caused by known genotoxic agents and the cellular repair response followed after exposure. Through the integration of biological and engineering principles, this method potentiates robust and sensitive measurements of DNA damage in human cells and provides the necessary throughput for genotoxicity testing, drug development, epidemiological studies and clinical assays.     

Statistical Analysis of the Comet Assay Using a Mixture of Gamma Distributions

Tail moments in the single cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay usually do not follow a normal distribution, making the statistical analysis complicated. Researchers have used a wide variety of statistical techniques in an attempt to overcome this problem. In many cases, the tail moments follow a bimodal distribution that can be modeled with a mixture of gamma distributions. This bimodality may be due to cells being in two different stages of the cell cycle at the time of treatment. Maximum likelihood, modified to accommodate censored data, can be used to estimate the five parameters of the gamma mixture distribution for each slide. A weighted analysis of variance on the parameter estimates for the gamma mixtures can be performed to determine differences in DNA damage between treatments. These methods were applied to an experiment on the effect of thymidine kinase in DNA damage and repair. Analysis based on the mixture of gamma distributions was found to be more statistically valid, more powerful, and more informative than analysis based on log-transformed tail moments.     

The effect of Helicobacter pylori infection on levels of DNA damage in gastric epithelial cells

Background. Helicobacter pylori infection leads to an increased risk of developing gastric cancer. The mechanism through which this occurs is not known. We aimed to determine the effect of H. pylori and gastritis on levels of DNA damage in gastric epithelial cells. Methods. Epithelial cells were isolated from antral biopsies from 111 patients. DNA damage was determined using single cell gel electrophoresis and the proportion of cells with damage calculated before and 6 weeks after eradication of H. pylori. Cell suspensions generated by sequential digestions of the same biopsies were assayed to determine the effect of cell position within the gastric pit on DNA damage. Results. DNA damage was significantly higher in normal gastric mucosa than in H. pylori gastritis [median (interquartile range) 65% (58.5–75.8), n = 18 and 21% (11.9–29.8), n = 65, respectively, p < .001]. Intermediate levels were found in reactive gastritis [55.5% (41.3–71.7), n = 13] and H. pylori negative chronic gastritis [50.5% (36.3–60.0), n = 15]. DNA damage rose 6 weeks after successful eradication of H. pylori[to 39.5% (26.3–51.0), p = .007] but was still lower than in normal mucosa. Chronic inflammation was the most important histological factor that determined DNA damage. DNA damage fell with increasing digestion times (r = –.92 and –.88 for normal mucosa and H. pylori gastritis, respectively). Conclusions. Lower levels of DNA damage in cells isolated from H. pylori infected gastric biopsies may be a reflection of increased cell turnover in H. pylori gastritis. The investigation of mature gastric epithelial cells for DNA damage is unlikely to elucidate the mechanisms underlying gastric carcinogenesis.