scholarly journals In vitro toxicity model: Upgrades to bridge the gap between preclinical and clinical research

Author(s):  
Eneko Madorran ◽  
Andraž Stožer ◽  
Sebastjan Bevc ◽  
Uroš Maver

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides extensive data that indicate our need for drugs to maintain human population health. Despite the substantial availability of drugs on the market, many patients lack specific drugs. New drugs are required to tackle this issue. Moreover, we need more reliable models for testing drug toxicity, as too many drug approval failures occur with the current models. This article briefly describes various approaches of the currently used models for toxicity screening, to justify the selection of in vitro cell-based models. Cell-based toxicity models have the best potential to reliably predict drug toxicity in humans, as they are developed using the cells of the target organism. However, currently, a large gap exists between in vitro cell-based approach to toxicity testing and the clinical approach, which may be contributing to drug approval failures. We propose improvements to in vitro cell-based toxicity models, which is often an insight approach, to better match this approach with the clinical homeostatic approach. This should enable a more accurate comparison of data between the preclinical as well as clinical models and provide a more comprehensive understanding of human physiology and biological effects of drugs.

Author(s):  
Mridu Malik ◽  
Yang Yang ◽  
Parinaz Fathi ◽  
Gretchen J. Mahler ◽  
Mandy B. Esch

Identification and approval of new drugs for use in patients requires extensive preclinical studies and clinical trials. Preclinical studies rely on in vitro experiments and animal models of human diseases. The transferability of drug toxicity and efficacy estimates to humans from animal models is being called into question. Subsequent clinical studies often reveal lower than expected efficacy and higher drug toxicity in humans than that seen in animal models. Microphysiological systems (MPS), sometimes called organ or human-on-chip models, present a potential alternative to animal-based models used for drug toxicity screening. This review discusses multi-organ MPS that can be used to model diseases and test the efficacy and safety of drug candidates. The translation of an in vivo environment to an in vitro system requires physiologically relevant organ scaling, vascular dimensions, and appropriate flow rates. Even small changes in those parameters can alter the outcome of experiments conducted with MPS. With many MPS devices being developed, we have outlined some established standards for designing MPS devices and described techniques to validate the devices. A physiologically realistic mimic of the human body can help determine the dose response and toxicity effects of a new drug candidate with higher predictive power.


2009 ◽  
Vol 28 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 377-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Vippola ◽  
GCM Falck ◽  
HK Lindberg ◽  
S. Suhonen ◽  
E. Vanhala ◽  
...  

Studies on potential toxicity of engineered nanoparticle (ENP) in biological systems require a proper and accurate particle characterization to ensure the reproducibility of the results and to understand biological effects of ENP. A full characterization of ENP should include various measurements such as particle size and size distribution, shape and morphology, crystallinity, composition, surface chemistry, and surface area of ENP. It is also important to characterize the state of ENP dispersions. In this study, four different ENPs, rutile and anatase titanium dioxides and short single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes, were characterized in two dispersion media: bronchial epithelial growth medium, used for bronchial epithelial BEAS cells, and RPMI-1640 culture media with 10% of fetal calf serum (FCS) for human mesothelial (MeT-5A) cells. The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of ENPs and their dispersions as well as to compare dispersion additives suitable for toxicity tests and thus establish an appropriate way to prepare dispersions that performs well with the selected ENP. Dispersion additives studied in the media were bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a protein resource, dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) as a model lung surfactant, and combination of BSA and DPPC. Dispersions were characterized using optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Our results showed that protein addition, BSA or FCS, in cell culture media generated small agglomerates of primary particles with narrow size variations and improved the stability of the dispersions and thus also the relevance of the in-vitro genotoxicity tests to be done.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1929
Author(s):  
Tereza Cervena ◽  
Andrea Rossnerova ◽  
Tana Zavodna ◽  
Jitka Sikorova ◽  
Kristyna Vrbova ◽  
...  

The evaluation of the frequency of micronuclei (MN) is a broadly utilised approach in in vitro toxicity testing. Nevertheless, the specific properties of nanomaterials (NMs) give rise to concerns regarding the optimal methodological variants of the MN assay. In bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B), we tested the genotoxicity of five types of NMs (TiO2: NM101, NM103; SiO2: NM200; Ag: NM300K, NM302) using four variants of MN protocols, differing in the time of exposure and the application of cytochalasin-B combined with the simultaneous and delayed co-treatment with NMs. Using transmission electron microscopy, we evaluated the impact of cytochalasin-B on the transport of NMs into the cells. To assess the behaviour of NMs in a culture media for individual testing conditions, we used dynamic light scattering measurement. The presence of NMs in the cells, their intracellular aggregation and dispersion properties were comparable when tests with or without cytochalasin-B were performed. The genotoxic potential of various TiO2 and Ag particles differed (NM101 < NM103 and NM302 < NM300K, respectively). The application of cytochalasin-B tended to increase the percentage of aberrant cells. In conclusion, the comparison of the testing strategies revealed that the level of DNA damage induced by NMs is affected by the selected methodological approach. This fact should be considered in the interpretation of the results of genotoxicity tests.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 239784732110222
Author(s):  
David Thorne ◽  
Roman Wieczorek ◽  
Toshiro Fukushima ◽  
Han-Jae Shin ◽  
Robert Leverette ◽  
...  

During a Cooperation Centre for Scientific Research Relative to Tobacco (CORESTA) meeting, the in vitro toxicity testing Sub-Group (IVT SG) met to discuss the evolving field of aerosol exposure research. Given the diversity of exposure parameters and biological endpoints being used, it was considered a high priority to investigate and contextualise the responses obtained. This is particularly driven by the inability to compare between studies on different exposure systems due to user preferences and protocol differences. Twelve global tobacco and contract research companies met to discuss this topic and formulate an aligned approach on how this diverging field of research could be appropriately compared. Something that is becoming increasingly important, especially in the light of more focused regulatory scrutiny. A detailed and comprehensive survey was conducted on over 40 parameters ranging from aerosol generation, dilution and data analysis across eight geographically independent laboratories. The survey results emphasise the diversity of in vitro exposure parameters and methodologies employed across the IVT SG and highlighted pockets of harmonisation. For example, many of the biological protocol parameters are consistent across the Sub-Group. However, variables such as cell type and exposure time remain largely inconsistent. The next steps for this work will be to map parameters and system data against biological findings and investigate whether the observed inconsistencies translate into increased biological variability. The results from the survey provide improved awareness of parameters and nuances, that may be of substantial benefit to scientists in intersecting fields and in the development of harmonised approaches.


1992 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 302-306
Author(s):  
Miroslav Červinka

Recent trends in the field of in vitro toxicology have centred around the validation of in vitro methods. The ultimate goal is to obtain pertinent data with the minimum of effort. In our laboratory, we have used toxicological methods based on the evaluation of cell morphology and cell proliferation. A method suitable for this purpose is time-lapse microcinematographic (or video) recording of cellular changes, which we used for many years. For practical in vitro toxicity testing, however, this method is far too complicated. Therefore, we have tried to develop a simple modification for the evaluation of cell morphology and cell proliferation, which would still allow for a basic time-dependent analysis. Comparison of detailed microcinematographic analysis with analysis according to our new proliferation assay is demonstrated with cisplatin as the toxicant. We believe that a time-dependent approach could improve the in vitro assessment of toxicity.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Pozzolini ◽  
Enrico Millo ◽  
Caterina Oliveri ◽  
Serena Mirata ◽  
Annalisa Salis ◽  
...  

Recently, the bioactive properties of marine collagen and marine collagen hydrolysates have been demonstrated. Although there is some literature assessing the general chemical features and biocompatibility of collagen extracts from marine sponges, no data are available on the biological effects of sponge collagen hydrolysates for biomedical and/or cosmetic purposes. Here, we studied the in vitro toxicity, antioxidant, wound-healing, and photoprotective properties of four HPLC-purified fractions of trypsin-digested collagen extracts—marine collagen hydrolysates (MCHs)—from the marine sponge C. reniformis. The results showed that the four MCHs have no degree of toxicity on the cell lines analyzed; conversely, they were able to stimulate cell growth. They showed a significant antioxidant activity both in cell-free assays as well as in H2O2 or quartz-stimulated macrophages, going from 23% to 60% of reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging activity for the four MCHs. Finally, an in vitro wound-healing test was performed with fibroblasts and keratinocytes, and the survival of both cells was evaluated after UV radiation. In both experiments, MCHs showed significant results, increasing the proliferation speed and protecting from UV-induced cell death. Overall, these data open the way to the use of C. reniformis MCHs in drug and cosmetic formulations for damaged or photoaged skin repair.


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