Slight hypercalcemia is not associated with positive responses in the Comet Assay in male rat liver

Thiel, A; Hamel, A; Schaefer, K; Cardoso, R; Beilstein, P

HERO ID

4943652

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year

2017

Language

English

PMID

28676263

HERO ID 4943652
In Press No
Year 2017
Title Slight hypercalcemia is not associated with positive responses in the Comet Assay in male rat liver
Authors Thiel, A; Hamel, A; Schaefer, K; Cardoso, R; Beilstein, P
Journal Mutation Research
Volume 820
Page Numbers 26-30
Abstract Maintenance of physiological levels of intracellular and extracellular calcium is essential for life. Increased intracellular calcium levels are involved in cell death (apoptosis and necrosis) and are associated with positive responses in the Comet assay in vitro. In addition, high calcium and vitamin D intakes were reported to induce apoptosis in adipose tissue in obese mice and to increase DNA-migration in the Comet assay. To investigate increased serum concentration of calcium as a potential confounding factor in the regulatory Comet assay in vivo, we induced mild hypercalcemia in male Wistar rats by 3-day continuous intravenous infusion of calcium gluconate and performed the Comet assay in the liver in line with regulatory guidelines. The results of the study showed that mild increases in serum calcium concentration (up to 1.4 times above the concurrent control) and increased urinary calcium concentration (up to 27.8 times above the concurrent control) results in clinical signs like mild tremor, faster respiration rate and decreased activity in a few animals. However, under the conditions of the study, no increase in the %Tail DNA in the Comet assay and no indication of liver damage as determined by histopathological means were observed. Thus, mild increases in plasma calcium did not lead to positive results in a genotoxicity assessment by the Comet assay in the rat liver. This result is important as it confirms the reliability of this assay for regulatory evaluation of safety.
Doi 10.1016/j.mrgentox.2017.05.010
Pmid 28676263
Wosid WOS:000405973300004
Is Certified Translation No
Dupe Override 4943652
Is Public Yes
Language Text English