Use of Reporter Assays in Monitoring Cellular Stress and Toxicity

Abstract

Monitoring the influence or process of gene expression is a very important part of research in many studies. Currently, many methods are being developed to facilitate the monitoring of gene expression regulation, the use of gene reporter assays being one of the examples. These systems represent an extensive set of tools to study the regulatory sequences of promoters, enhancers, and transcription factors. There are several assays using reporter cells to determine the biological activity of the compounds studied. The aim of this review article is to present the preparation of reporter plasmids, which is always the first step in assays using reporter genes. Subsequently, the most common types of reporter test are described, and examples of their use in in vitro testing are presented.