Research Perspective Volume 3, Issue 2 pp 168—174

Recent developments in the use of γ -H2AX as a quantitative DNA double-strand break biomarker

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Figure 1. Applications for γ-H2AX detection. Because of its sensitivity, the γ-H2AX assay is now utilized in many research areas “from benchtop to bedside” by researchers and clinicians. In addition to being widely used for fundamental research (study of genome stability, DNA repair, etc.) in the last decade, γ-H2AX was identified as a biomarker for cancer (and premalignant lesions) and used to better understand aging. Additionally, γ-H2AX has been developed for radiation biology and biodosimetry for drug development and clinical studies (chemotherapy, the impact of chronic inflammation and diabetes on genome integrity). Finally, γ-H2AX measurement is an efficient and sensitive genotoxic assay for environmental studies.