Advantages of evaluating gamma H2AX induction in non-clinical drug development

gamma H2AX, the phosphorylated form of a histone variant H2AX at Ser 139, is already widely used as a biomarker to research the fundamental biology of DNA damage and repair and to assess the risk of environmental chemicals, pollutants, radiation, and so on. It is also beginning to be used in the early non-clinical stage of pharmaceutical drug development as an in vitro tool for screening and for mechanistic studies on genotoxicity. Here, we review the available information on gamma H2AX-based test systems that can be used to develop drugs and present our own experience of practically applying these systems during the non-clinical phase of drug development. Furthermore, the potential application of gamma H2AX as a tool for in vivo non-clinical safety studies is also discussed.