Relevant Aspects of Drug Genetic Toxicology

Genotoxic lesions are not only a cause of genetic pathologies and cancer, but also the most common and significant factor of the etiopathology of cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disorders, reproductive losses, infertility, and aging. This requires careful monitoring of the use of potential genotoxicants including medicinal products (MPs), which are a group of compounds intentionally and routinely used by humans. Genotoxicity assesment is highly essential in preclinical drug safety studies. The aim of the study was to analyse the current situation and reveal possible ways of addressing methodological and regulatory issues in genotoxicology to enable proper conduction of drug safety preclinical studies. The article summarises basic concepts of the modern genetic toxicology development and highlights the history of research aimed at identifying mutagenic, clastogenic, and aneugenic effects. The authors analyse regulatory aspects of genotoxicological studies of MPs and consider issues of improving the strategy for genotoxicity testing. The paper gives information about the genotoxicity tests approved for MPs, recommendations for interchangeability of tests in relation to particular study characteristics. The authors carried out a comparative analysis of the tests’ pros and cons with an emphasis that the study of each MP is a separate scientific task. They discuss interpretation of results and prediction of MP carcinogenic potential in genotoxicological studies. Recommendations are given for the optimisation of the MP genotoxicity assessment strategy, considering its partial integration into general toxicity studies. The article stresses the urgent need to develop registration methods for genotoxic events in germ cells, assesses the prospects of new tests, and reviews new trends in drug genotoxicology fundamental research.