Humans are exposed to many natural or synthetic compounds now-a-days. These chemicals may be exogenous or endogenous which may cause potentially irreversible changes. These changes may be due to mutagenesis, carcinogenesis, cell death, inhibition of cell division, chromosomal breakage or consequences of the changes in DNA. Genetic changes produced by such chemicals can be detected by various biological tests either in-vivo or in-vitro. Among all these tests, in-vivo, mammalian bone marrow chromosomal aberration assay (CA), mammalian bone marrow micronucleus assay (MN) and sperm shape abnormality assay (SA) are most important assays to detect the genotoxicity of any compound. If these assays are used simultaneously, one can easily predict the genetic changes produced by any compound in all type of cells because in-vivo CA is used to detect chromosomal aberrations, while in-vivo MN is used to detect loss of chromosomal fragments or whole chromosome or nuclear fragments during apoptosis. These both assays are used for somatic cells and able to detect the genetic damage of any type of cells of the body. SA is used to detect tissue level changes, i.e. damage of sperm cells which are germ cells. So, when used simultaneously these assays are able to conclude mutagenicity of any testing agent. All these three assays are widely accepted by regulatory agencies.
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