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The PIGRET assay is one of the Pig-a assays targeting reticulocytes (RETs), an in vivo genotoxicity evaluation method using flow cytometry with endogenous reporter glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor protein. The PIGRET assay with RETs selectively enriched with anti-CD71 antibodies has several desirable features: high-throughput assay system, low background frequency of mutant cells, and early detection of mutation. To verify the potential and usefulness of the PIGRET assay for short-term testing, an interlaboratory trial involving 16 laboratories organized by the Mammalian Mutagenicity Study Group of the Japanese Environmental Mutagen and Genome Society was conducted. The collaborating laboratories assessed the mutagenicities of a total of 24 chemicals in rats using a single-treatment design and standard protocols for conducting the Pig-a assay on the total red blood cell assay and the PIGRET assay. Here the standard protocol for the PIGRET assay was described in detail.

The Pig-a assay, a promising tool for evaluating in vivo genotoxicity, is based on flow cytometric enumeration of red blood cells (RBCs) that are deficient in glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor protein. Various approaches for measuring Pig-a mutant cells have been developed, particularly focusing on measuring mutants in peripheral RBCs and reticulocytes (RETs). The Pig-a assay on concentrated RETs—the PIGRET assay—has the potential to detect genotoxicity in the early stages of a study. To verify the potential and usefulness of the PIGRET assay for short-term testing, we conducted an interlaboratory trial involving 16 laboratories organized by the Mammalian Mutagenicity Study Group of the Japanese Environmental Mutagen Society (MMS/JEMS). The collaborating laboratories assessed the mutagenicity of a total of 24 chemicals in rats using a single-treatment design and standard protocols for conducting the Pig-a assay on total RBCs (the RBC Pig-a assay) and the PIGRET assay. Here, we describe the standard protocol for the RBC Pig-a assay in detail.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a transgenic rat mutation assay using F344 gpt delta rats. We investigated the mutagenic potential in the lung of nickel subsulfide (Ni3S2), an insoluble fine-crystalline-metallic compound and a carcinogen in the rodent and human lung. Ni3S2 carcinogenicity has been proposed to act via both genotoxic and non-genotoxic mechanisms. Ni3S2 was intratracheally instilled into male gpt delta rats at doses of 0.5 and 1 mg/animal once a week for four weeks; these doses of Ni3S2 are high enough to induce inflammation in the lung. Following a period of 28 and 90 days after the first administration, the gpt mutant frequencies (MFs) in lung were determined in four independent laboratories, and Spi− selection for larger deletion mutations was done in one laboratory. The gpt MFs of the rats treated with Ni3S2 were not increased: all four laboratories obtained similar results with no statistical differences. The Spi− MFs were also not increased by exposure to Ni3S2. These results indicate that intratracheally instilled Ni3S2 is non-mutagenic in the lung of gpt delta transgenic rats; however, whether Ni3S2 is non-mutagenic in the lung or it induces mutations which are not detectable by transgenic rodent mutation assays requires further investigation.