Neutral Comet Assay to Detect and Quantitate DNA Double-Strand Breaksin Hematopoietic Stem Cells.

In vertebrates, hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) regulate the supply of blood cells throughout the lifetime and help to maintain homeostasis. Due to their long lifespan, genetic integrity is paramount for these cells, and accordingly, a number of stem cell-specific mechanisms are employed. However, HSCs tend to show more DNA damage with increasing age due to an imbalance between proliferation rates and DNA damage responses.