Background:
The comet assay (single-cell gel electrophoresis) is a sensitive method for evaluating nuclear DNA damage. Previously used evaluation methods for the comet assay are time consuming and have an inherent risk of biased selection of comets due to manual selection and categorization of comet images. Laser scanning cytometry (LSC), the principle of which is equivalent to flow cytometry, enables quantification of fluorescence emitted from the cells on a microscope slide. In the present study, we explored whether LSC could be used to determine the degree of DNA damage demonstrated by the comet assay. Methods: DNA damage was induced by ultraviolet A irradiation of keratinocytes and visualized by the comet assay. The evaluation included (a) LSC determination of DNA-specific fluorescence in 1,000 comet heads (undamaged DNA), (b) image acquisition of comets by rescanning of the microscope slide, and (c) digital image analysis and computation of tail moment and DNA content in the comet tails. Results: Cells with damaged DNA were observed in a sub-G 1 area because the comet head loses DNA to the tail. We found a strong inverse correlation between tail moment and DNA content per nucleus. Conclusions: LSC enables an automated method for cell recognition and evaluation of the comets, thus providing quantitative information about nuclear DNA damage without subjective selection of analyzed comets.