HPRT gene assay

Johnson GE (2012) Mammalian cell HPRT gene mutation assay test methods. Methods Mol Biol 817 55-67... 

CD-I mice were exposed to purified air or benzene by inhalation at 0.04, 0.1, or 1.0 ppm for 22 hours per day, 7 days per week for 6 weeks (Ward et al. 1992). The effects of in vivo exposure to benzene were evaluated by using an autoradiographic assay to determine the frequency of mutants which represent mutations at the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (hprt) locus in spleen lymphocytes. At the end of the six weeks exposure period, lymphocytes were recovered from the spleens of the mice and cryopreserved prior to assay. Mutant cells were selected on the basis of their ability to incorporate tritiated thymidine in the presence of 6-thioguanine. The increased frequencies of mutant spleen lymphocytes were significant at the low and mid, but not the high dose, and the method does not take into account possible clonal expansion. Further evaluation of the induction of gene mutation at these dose levels seems warranted. 

In Lesch-Nyhan patients, all tissues are devoid of HPRT. The disorder thus can be detected by an assay for HPRT in erythrocytes and by cultured fibroblasts. The former test has been used in detection of the heterozygous state. HPRT is a 217-amino-acid cytosolic enzyme coded for by a single gene on the X chromosome. 

In Vivo Gene Mutation Assays Mouse (Coat) Spot Assay Mouse Retinoblast (Eye Spot) Assay Hprt Assay... 

---