CHAPTER 11: The Micronucleus (MN) Assay Using Human-derived Cells

The micronucleus (MN) assay, a mainstay of DNA damage testing for over 30 years, has been applied to dozens of human cell model systems and used to generate hazard identification data on hundreds of chemical (and physical) agents in vitro. Standardisation of the MN assay procedures and strict adherence of cell culture best practise has ensured high quality reproducible data is being generated. We compare here key characteristics of different human cell models used in MN studies across recent years and show technical details of 19 different human cell lines used for MN assessment as well as several 3D human tissue models. We discuss some of the key aspects of the methodology and/or cell culture characteristics which influence the level of MN in these human cells.