Gene expression assay

Microbes and metazoans are exposed to a variety of toxic stresses and have evolved appropriate defenses and repair mechanisms. Some of these systems are regulated at the protein level, but others are regulated at the transcriptional level, allowing the development of reporter assays. These transcriptional responses can be used to provide an earlier marker for genotoxin exposure in a whole population of cells, rather than the detection of the endpoints discussed above, in which genotoxic stress leads to fixation of mutations or chromosomal aberrations/damage in a small subpopulation. 

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Activated Lwciferase gene Expression) assay adapted and validated for measuring TCDD equivalents in blood plasma , Environ Toxic Chem 1997 16 1583-7. 

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