Science for Genome Safety

Many chemical substances exist in our living environment, and the number is increasing every year. Some classes of chemical substances affect a gene causing cancers and hereditary diseases which are so-called "Genotoxic Chemicals". The mission of Honma's lab is to identify genotoxic chemicals, evaluate the risk to humans, and remove or reduce them from our environment through administrative regulations, if necessary, thereby assuring the integrity of the human genome. To accomplish the mission, they are engaged in the development of various genotoxicity assays, as well as research on mechanisms of mutagenesis and DNA repair and application of this knowledge to the risk assessment of chemicals. Honma is also working on the regulation of chemicals through participation in administrative committees in regulatory agencies. As to specific research projects, Honma's lab is developing a gene mutation assay system using bacteria, yeast, mammalian cells and animals, and studying about the mechanism of DNA repair and chemical mutagenesis using these assay systems. Considering the rapid increase in the number of chemical substances, however, conducting toxicological tests for all chemical substances is not feasible. Honma also develops computational models to predict the mutagenicity and carcinogenicity of chemical substances using Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship (QSAR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. These new technologies can contribute to animal welfare. To abolish toxicological tests using animals is important for the formation of a wholesome society.