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As a part of the Japanese Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods (JaCVAM)-initiative international validation study of the in vivo alkaline comet assay (comet assay), we examined DNA damage in the liver, stomach, and bone marrow of rats dosed orally three times with up to 2000 mg/kg of benzene, di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, and trisodium ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid monohydrate. All three compounds gave negative results in the liver and stomach. In addition, a bone marrow comet and micronucleus analysis revealed that benzene, but not di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate or trisodium ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid monohydrate induced a significant increase in the median % tail DNA and micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes, compared with the respective concurrent vehicle control. These results were in good agreement with the previously reported genotoxicity findings for each compound. The present study has shown that combining the micronucleus test with the comet assay and carrying out these analyses simultaneously is effective in clarifying the mechanism of action of genotoxic compounds such as benzene.

The in vivo rodent alkaline comet assay (comet assay) is a promising technique to evaluate DNA damage in vivo. However, there is no agreement on a method to evaluate DNA damage in organs where cytotoxicity is observed. As a part of the Japanese Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods (JaCVAM)-initiative international validation study of the comet assay, we examined DNA damage in the liver, stomach, and bone marrow of rats given three oral doses of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) up to the maximum tolerated dose based on systemic toxicity. MNU significantly increased the % tail DNA in all the organs. Histopathological analysis showed no cytotoxic effect on the liver, indicating clearly that MNU has a genotoxic potential in the liver. In the stomach, however, the cytotoxic effects were very severe at systemically non-toxic doses. Low-dose MNU significantly increased the % tail DNA even at a non-cytotoxic dose, indicating that MNU has a genotoxic potential also in the stomach. Part of the DNA damage at cytotoxic doses was considered to be a secondary effect of severe cell damage. In the bone marrow, both the % tail DNA and incidence of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes significantly increased at non-hematotoxic doses, which were different from the non-cytotoxic doses for liver and stomach. These findings indicate that an optimal dose for detecting DNA damage may vary among organs and that careful attention is required to select an optimum dose for the comet assay based on systemic toxicity such as mortality and clinical observations. The present study shows that when serious cytotoxicity is suggested by increased % hedgehogs in the comet assay, histopathological examination should be included for the evaluation of a positive response.