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Doering JA, Dubiel J, Stock E, Collins CH, Frick I, Johnson HM, Lowrey-Dufour CM, Miller JGP, Xia Z, Tomy GT, Wiseman S. A Quantitative Adverse Outcome Pathway for Embryonic Activation of the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor of Fishes by Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Leading to Decreased Fecundity at Adulthood. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY 2024; 43:2145-2156. [PMID: 39092785 DOI: 10.1002/etc.5964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2024] [Revised: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 08/04/2024]
Abstract
Quantitative adverse outcome pathways (qAOPs) describe the response-response relationships that link the magnitude and/or duration of chemical interaction with a specific molecular target to the probability and/or severity of the resulting apical-level toxicity of regulatory relevance. The present study developed the first qAOP for latent toxicities showing that early life exposure adversely affects health at adulthood. Specifically, a qAOP for embryonic activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor 2 (AHR2) of fishes by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) leading to decreased fecundity of females at adulthood was developed by building on existing qAOPs for (1) activation of the AHR leading to early life mortality in birds and fishes, and (2) inhibition of cytochrome P450 aromatase activity leading to decreased fecundity in fishes. Using zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model species and benzo[a]pyrene as a model PAH, three linked quantitative relationships were developed: (1) plasma estrogen in adult females as a function of embryonic exposure, (2) plasma vitellogenin in adult females as a function of plasma estrogen, and (3) fecundity of adult females as a function of plasma vitellogenin. A fourth quantitative relationship was developed for early life mortality as a function of sensitivity to activation of the AHR2 in a standardized in vitro AHR transactivation assay to integrate toxic equivalence calculations that would allow prediction of effects of exposure to untested PAHs. The accuracy of the predictions from the resulting qAOP were evaluated using experimental data from zebrafish exposed as embryos to another PAH, benzo[k]fluoranthene. The qAOP developed in the present study demonstrates the potential of the AOP framework in enabling consideration of latent toxicities in quantitative ecological risk assessments and regulatory decision-making. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:2145-2156. © 2024 SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon A Doering
- Department of Environmental Sciences, College of the Coast & Environment, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - Justin Dubiel
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - Eric Stock
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - Cameron H Collins
- Department of Environmental Sciences, College of the Coast & Environment, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
| | - Ian Frick
- Department of Environmental Sciences, College of the Coast & Environment, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
- Department of Mathematics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
| | - Hunter M Johnson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - Christopher M Lowrey-Dufour
- Department of Environmental Sciences, College of the Coast & Environment, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
| | - Justin G P Miller
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - Zhe Xia
- Department of Chemistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Gregg T Tomy
- Department of Chemistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Steve Wiseman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
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Barbaro F, Conza GD, Quartulli FP, Quarantini E, Quarantini M, Zini N, Fabbri C, Mosca S, Caravelli S, Mosca M, Vescovi P, Sprio S, Tampieri A, Toni R. Correlation between tooth decay and insulin resistance in normal weight males prompts a role for myo-inositol as a regenerative factor in dentistry and oral surgery: a feasibility study. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2024; 12:1374135. [PMID: 39144484 PMCID: PMC11321979 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1374135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2024] [Accepted: 07/01/2024] [Indexed: 08/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Background In an era of precision and stratified medicine, homogeneity in population-based cohorts, stringent causative entry, and pattern analysis of datasets are key elements to investigate medical treatments. Adhering to these principles, we collected in vivo and in vitro data pointing to an insulin-sensitizing/insulin-mimetic effect of myo-inositol (MYO) relevant to cell regeneration in dentistry and oral surgery. Confirmation of this possibility was obtained by in silico analysis of the relation between in vivo and in vitro results (the so-called bed-to-benchside reverse translational approach). Results Fourteen subjects over the 266 screened were young adult, normal weight, euglycemic, sedentary males having normal appetite, free diet, with a regular three-times-a-day eating schedule, standard dental hygiene, and negligible malocclusion/enamel defects. Occlusal caries were detected by fluorescence videoscanning, whereas body composition and energy balance were estimated with plicometry, predictive equations, and handgrip. Statistically significant correlations (Pearson r coefficient) were found between the number of occlusal caries and anthropometric indexes predicting insulin resistance (IR) in relation to the abdominal/visceral fat mass, fat-free mass, muscular strength, and energy expenditure adjusted to the fat and muscle stores. This indicated a role for IR in affecting dentin reparative processes. Consistently, in vitro administration of MYO to HUVEC and Swiss NIH3T3 cells in concentrations corresponding to those administered in vivo to reduce IR resulted in statistically significant cell replication (ANOVA/Turkey tests), suggesting that MYO has the potential to counteract inhibitory effects of IR on dental vascular and stromal cells turnover. Finally, in in silico experiments, quantitative evaluation (WOE and information value) of a bioinformatic Clinical Outcome Pathway confirmed that in vitro trophic effects of MYO could be transferred in vivo with high predictability, providing robust credence of its efficacy for oral health. Conclusion Our reverse bed-to-benchside data indicate that MYO might antagonize the detrimental effects of IR on tooth decay. This provides feasibility for clinical studies on MYO as a regenerative factor in dentistry and oral surgery, including dysmetabolic/aging conditions, bone reconstruction in oral destructive/necrotic disorders, dental implants, and for empowering the efficacy of a number of tissue engineering methodologies in dentistry and oral surgery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fulvio Barbaro
- Department of Medicine and Surgery - DIMEC, Laboratory of Regenerative Morphology and Bioartificial Structures (Re.Mo.Bio.S.), Museum and Historical Library of Biomedicine - BIOMED, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Giusy Di Conza
- Department of Medicine and Surgery - DIMEC, Laboratory of Regenerative Morphology and Bioartificial Structures (Re.Mo.Bio.S.), Museum and Historical Library of Biomedicine - BIOMED, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Francesca Pia Quartulli
- Department of Medicine and Surgery - DIMEC, Laboratory of Regenerative Morphology and Bioartificial Structures (Re.Mo.Bio.S.), Museum and Historical Library of Biomedicine - BIOMED, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Enrico Quarantini
- Odontostomatology Unit, and R&D Center for Artificial Intelligence in Biomedicine and Odontostomatology (A.I.B.O), Galliera Medical Center, San Venanzio di Galliera, Italy
| | - Marco Quarantini
- Odontostomatology Unit, and R&D Center for Artificial Intelligence in Biomedicine and Odontostomatology (A.I.B.O), Galliera Medical Center, San Venanzio di Galliera, Italy
| | - Nicoletta Zini
- CNR Institute of Molecular Genetics “Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza”, Unit of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Celine Fabbri
- Course on Odontostomatology, University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Salvatore Mosca
- Course on Disorders of the Locomotor System, Fellow Program in Orthopaedics and Traumatology, University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Silvio Caravelli
- O.U. Orthopedics Bentivoglio, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy
| | - Massimiliano Mosca
- O.U. Orthopedics Bentivoglio, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy
| | - Paolo Vescovi
- Department of Medicine and Surgery - DIMEC, Odontostomatology Section, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | | | | | - Roberto Toni
- CNR - ISSMC, Faenza, Italy
- Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna, Section IV - Medical Sciences, Bologna, Italy
- Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Nutrition Disorders Outpatient Clinic - OSTEONET (Osteoporosis, Nutrition, Endocrinology, and Innovative Therapies) and R&D Center A.I.B.O, Centro Medico Galliera, San Venanzio di Galliera, Italy
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Tufts Medical Center - Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
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Dufourcq Sekatcheff E, Jeong J, Choi J. Bridging the Gap Between Human Toxicology and Ecotoxicology Under One Health Perspective by a Cross-Species Adverse Outcome Pathway Network for Reproductive Toxicity. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY 2024. [PMID: 38980262 DOI: 10.1002/etc.5940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2024] [Revised: 04/23/2024] [Accepted: 06/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
Although ecotoxicological and toxicological risk assessments are performed separately from each other, recent efforts have been made in both disciplines to reduce animal testing and develop predictive approaches instead, for example, via conserved molecular markers, and in vitro and in silico approaches. Among them, adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) have been proposed to facilitate the prediction of molecular toxic effects at larger biological scales. Thus, more toxicological data are used to inform on ecotoxicological risks and vice versa. An AOP has been previously developed to predict reproductive toxicity of silver nanoparticles via oxidative stress on the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (AOPwiki ID 207). Following this previous study, our present study aims to extend the biologically plausible taxonomic domain of applicability (tDOA) of AOP 207. Various types of data, including in vitro human cells, in vivo, and molecular to individual, from previous studies have been collected and structured into a cross-species AOP network that can inform both human toxicology and ecotoxicology risk assessments. The first step was the collection and analysis of literature data to fit the AOP criteria and build a first AOP network. Then, key event relationships were assessed using a Bayesian network modeling approach, which gave more confidence in our overall AOP network. Finally, the biologically plausible tDOA was extended using in silico approaches (Genes-to-Pathways Species Conservation Analysis and Sequence Alignment to Predict Across Species Susceptibility), which led to the extrapolation of our AOP network across over 100 taxonomic groups. Our approach shows that various types of data can be integrated into an AOP framework, and thus facilitates access to knowledge and prediction of toxic mechanisms without the need for further animal testing. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;00:1-14. © 2024 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jaeseong Jeong
- School of Environmental Engineering, University of Seoul, Seoul, Korea
| | - Jinhee Choi
- School of Environmental Engineering, University of Seoul, Seoul, Korea
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Banerjee A, Roy K. ARKA: a framework of dimensionality reduction for machine-learning classification modeling, risk assessment, and data gap-filling of sparse environmental toxicity data. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE. PROCESSES & IMPACTS 2024; 26:991-1007. [PMID: 38743054 DOI: 10.1039/d4em00173g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
Due to the lack of experimental toxicity data for environmental chemicals, there arises a need to fill data gaps by in silico approaches. One of the most commonly used in silico approaches for toxicity assessment of small datasets is the Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR), which generates predictive models for the efficient prediction of query compounds. However, the reliability of the predictions from QSARs derived from small datasets is often questionable from a statistical point of view. This is due to the presence of a larger number of descriptors as compared to the number of training compounds, which reduces the degree of freedom of the developed model. To reduce the overall prediction error for a particular QSAR model, we have proposed here the computation of the novel Arithmetic Residuals in K-groups Analysis (ARKA) descriptors. We have reduced the number of modeling descriptors in a supervised manner by partitioning them into K classes (K = 2 here) depending on the higher mean normalized values of the descriptors to a particular response class, thus preventing the loss of chemical information. A scatter plot of the data points using the values of two ARKA descriptors (ARKA_2 vs. ARKA_1) can potentially identify activity cliffs, less confident data points, and less modelable data points. We have used here five representative environmentally relevant endpoints (skin sensitization, earthworm toxicity, milk/plasma partitioning, algal toxicity, and rodent carcinogenicity of hazardous chemicals) with graded responses to which the ARKA framework was applied for classification modeling. On comparing the performance of the models generated using conventional QSAR descriptors and the ARKA descriptors, the prediction quality of the models derived from ARKA descriptors was found, based on multiple graded-data validation metrics-derived decision criteria, much better than the models derived from QSAR descriptors signifying the potential of ARKA descriptors in ecotoxicological classification modeling of small data sets. Additionally, this holds true for the Read-Across approach as well, since the Read-Across predictions using ARKA descriptors supersede the predictions generated from QSAR descriptors. For the ease of users, a Java-based expert system has been developed that computes the ARKA descriptors from the input of QSAR descriptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arkaprava Banerjee
- Drug Theoretics and Cheminformatics Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700 032, India.
| | - Kunal Roy
- Drug Theoretics and Cheminformatics Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700 032, India.
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Rattner BA, Bean TG, Beasley VR, Berny P, Eisenreich KM, Elliott JE, Eng ML, Fuchsman PC, King MD, Mateo R, Meyer CB, O'Brien JM, Salice CJ. Wildlife ecological risk assessment in the 21st century: Promising technologies to assess toxicological effects. INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT 2024; 20:725-748. [PMID: 37417421 DOI: 10.1002/ieam.4806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 06/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
Despite advances in toxicity testing and the development of new approach methodologies (NAMs) for hazard assessment, the ecological risk assessment (ERA) framework for terrestrial wildlife (i.e., air-breathing amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals) has remained unchanged for decades. While survival, growth, and reproductive endpoints derived from whole-animal toxicity tests are central to hazard assessment, nonstandard measures of biological effects at multiple levels of biological organization (e.g., molecular, cellular, tissue, organ, organism, population, community, ecosystem) have the potential to enhance the relevance of prospective and retrospective wildlife ERAs. Other factors (e.g., indirect effects of contaminants on food supplies and infectious disease processes) are influenced by toxicants at individual, population, and community levels, and need to be factored into chemically based risk assessments to enhance the "eco" component of ERAs. Regulatory and logistical challenges often relegate such nonstandard endpoints and indirect effects to postregistration evaluations of pesticides and industrial chemicals and contaminated site evaluations. While NAMs are being developed, to date, their applications in ERAs focused on wildlife have been limited. No single magic tool or model will address all uncertainties in hazard assessment. Modernizing wildlife ERAs will likely entail combinations of laboratory- and field-derived data at multiple levels of biological organization, knowledge collection solutions (e.g., systematic review, adverse outcome pathway frameworks), and inferential methods that facilitate integrations and risk estimations focused on species, populations, interspecific extrapolations, and ecosystem services modeling, with less dependence on whole-animal data and simple hazard ratios. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:725-748. © 2023 His Majesty the King in Right of Canada and The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC). Reproduced with the permission of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada. This article has been contributed to by US Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barnett A Rattner
- US Geological Survey, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Laurel, Maryland, USA
| | | | - Val R Beasley
- College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, Illinois, USA
| | | | - Karen M Eisenreich
- US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - John E Elliott
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Delta, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Margaret L Eng
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | | | - Mason D King
- Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | | | - Jason M O'Brien
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Zhang J, Zhang J, Huang X, Xie F, Dai B, Ma T, Zeng J. Combined toxicity and adverse outcome pathways of common pesticides on Chlorella pyrenoidosa. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE. PROCESSES & IMPACTS 2024; 26:611-621. [PMID: 38329146 DOI: 10.1039/d3em00525a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
Pesticides due to their extensive use have entered the soil and water environment through various pathways, causing great harm to the environment. Herbicides and insecticides are common pesticides with long-term biological toxicity and bioaccumulation, which can harm the human body. The concept of the adverse outcome pathway (AOP) involves systematically analyzing the response levels of chemical mixtures to health-related indicators at the molecular and cellular levels. The AOP correlates the structures of chemical pollutants, toxic molecular initiation events and adverse outcomes of biological toxicity, providing a new model for toxicity testing, prediction, and evaluation of pollutants. Therefore, typical pesticides including diquat (DIQ), cyanazine (CYA), dipterex (DIP), propoxur (PRO), and oxamyl (OXA) were selected as research objects to explore the combined toxicity of typical pesticides on Chlorella pyrenoidosa (C. pyrenoidosa) and their adverse outcome pathways (AOPs). The mixture systems of pesticides were designed by the direct equipartition ray (EquRay) method and uniform design ray (UD-Ray) method. The toxic effects of single pesticides and their mixtures were systematically investigated by the time-dependent microplate toxicity analysis (t-MTA) method. The interactions of their mixtures were analyzed by the concentration addition model (CA) and the deviation from the CA model (dCA). The toxicity data showed a good concentration-effect relationship; the toxicities of five pesticides were different and the order was CYA > DIQ > OXA > PRO > DIP. Binary, ternary and quaternary mixture systems exhibited antagonism, while quinary mixture systems exhibited an additive effect. The AOP of pesticides showed that an excessive accumulation of peroxide in green algae cells led to a decline in stress resistance, inhibition of the synthesis of chlorophyll and protein in algal cells, destruction of the cellular structure, and eventually led to algal cell death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Wastewater Resource of Anhui Province, College of Environment and Energy Engineering, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei 230601, PR China.
| | - Jin Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Wastewater Resource of Anhui Province, College of Environment and Energy Engineering, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei 230601, PR China.
| | - Xianhuai Huang
- Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Wastewater Resource of Anhui Province, College of Environment and Energy Engineering, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei 230601, PR China.
| | - Fazhi Xie
- Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Wastewater Resource of Anhui Province, College of Environment and Energy Engineering, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei 230601, PR China.
| | - Biya Dai
- Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Wastewater Resource of Anhui Province, College of Environment and Energy Engineering, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei 230601, PR China.
| | - Tianyi Ma
- Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Wastewater Resource of Anhui Province, College of Environment and Energy Engineering, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei 230601, PR China.
| | - Jianping Zeng
- Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Wastewater Resource of Anhui Province, College of Environment and Energy Engineering, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei 230601, PR China.
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Margiotta-Casaluci L, Owen SF, Winter MJ. Cross-Species Extrapolation of Biological Data to Guide the Environmental Safety Assessment of Pharmaceuticals-The State of the Art and Future Priorities. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY 2024; 43:513-525. [PMID: 37067359 DOI: 10.1002/etc.5634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Revised: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The extrapolation of biological data across species is a key aspect of biomedical research and drug development. In this context, comparative biology considerations are applied with the goal of understanding human disease and guiding the development of effective and safe medicines. However, the widespread occurrence of pharmaceuticals in the environment and the need to assess the risk posed to wildlife have prompted a renewed interest in the extrapolation of pharmacological and toxicological data across the entire tree of life. To address this challenge, a biological "read-across" approach, based on the use of mammalian data to inform toxicity predictions in wildlife species, has been proposed as an effective way to streamline the environmental safety assessment of pharmaceuticals. Yet, how effective has this approach been, and are we any closer to being able to accurately predict environmental risk based on known human risk? We discuss the main theoretical and experimental advancements achieved in the last 10 years of research in this field. We propose that a better understanding of the functional conservation of drug targets across species and of the quantitative relationship between target modulation and adverse effects should be considered as future research priorities. This pharmacodynamic focus should be complemented with the application of higher-throughput experimental and computational approaches to accelerate the prediction of internal exposure dynamics. The translation of comparative (eco)toxicology research into real-world applications, however, relies on the (limited) availability of experts with the skill set needed to navigate the complexity of the problem; hence, we also call for synergistic multistakeholder efforts to support and strengthen comparative toxicology research and education at a global level. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:513-525. © 2023 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi Margiotta-Casaluci
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Stewart F Owen
- Global Sustainability, AstraZeneca, Macclesfield, Cheshire, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew J Winter
- Biosciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom
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Ito S, Mukherjee S, Erami K, Muratani S, Mori A, Ichikawa S, White W, Yoshino K, Fallacara D. Proof of concept for quantitative adverse outcome pathway modeling of chronic toxicity in repeated exposure. Sci Rep 2024; 14:4741. [PMID: 38413641 PMCID: PMC10899215 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-55220-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) is a useful tool to glean mode of action (MOE) of a chemical. However, in order to use it for the purpose of risk assessment, an AOP needs to be quantified using in vitro or in vivo data. Majority of quantitative AOPs developed so far, were for single exposure to progressively higher doses. Limited attempts were made to include time in the modeling. Here as a proof-of concept, we developed a hypothetical AOP, and quantified it using a virtual dataset for six repeated exposures using a Bayesian Network Analysis (BN) framework. The virtual data was generated using realistic assumptions. Effects of each exposure were analyzed separately using a static BN model and analyzed in combination using a dynamic BN (DBN) model. Our work shows that the DBN model can be used to calculate the probability of adverse outcome when other upstream KEs were observed earlier. These probabilities can help in identification of early indicators of AO. In addition, we also developed a data driven AOP pruning technique using a lasso-based subset selection, and show that the causal structure of AOP is itself dynamic and changes over time. This proof-of-concept study revealed the possibility for expanding the applicability of the AOP framework to incorporate biological dynamism in toxicity appearance by repeated insults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shigeaki Ito
- Scientific Product Assessment Center, Japan Tobacco Inc., 6-2, Umegaoka, Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 227-8512, Japan.
| | | | - Kazuo Erami
- Scientific Product Assessment Center, Japan Tobacco Inc., 6-2, Umegaoka, Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 227-8512, Japan
| | - Shugo Muratani
- Scientific Product Assessment Center, Japan Tobacco Inc., 6-2, Umegaoka, Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 227-8512, Japan
| | - Akina Mori
- Scientific Product Assessment Center, Japan Tobacco Inc., 6-2, Umegaoka, Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 227-8512, Japan
| | - Sakuya Ichikawa
- Scientific Product Assessment Center, Japan Tobacco Inc., 6-2, Umegaoka, Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 227-8512, Japan
| | | | - Kei Yoshino
- Scientific Product Assessment Center, Japan Tobacco Inc., 6-2, Umegaoka, Aoba-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 227-8512, Japan
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9
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Aleksic M, Rajagopal R, de-Ávila R, Spriggs S, Gilmour N. The skin sensitization adverse outcome pathway: exploring the role of mechanistic understanding for higher tier risk assessment. Crit Rev Toxicol 2024; 54:69-91. [PMID: 38385441 DOI: 10.1080/10408444.2024.2308816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
For over a decade, the skin sensitization Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) has served as a useful framework for development of novel in chemico and in vitro assays for use in skin sensitization hazard and risk assessment. Since its establishment, the AOP framework further fueled the existing efforts in new assay development and stimulated a plethora of activities with particular focus on validation, reproducibility and interpretation of individual assays and combination of assay outputs for use in hazard/risk assessment. In parallel, research efforts have also accelerated in pace, providing new molecular and dynamic insight into key events leading to sensitization. In light of novel hypotheses emerging from over a decade of focused research effort, mechanistic evidence relating to the key events in the skin sensitization AOP may complement the tools currently used in risk assessment. We reviewed the recent advances unraveling the complexity of molecular events in sensitization and signpost the most promising avenues for further exploration and development of useful assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maja Aleksic
- Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre, Unilever, Sharnbrook, UK
| | - Ramya Rajagopal
- Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre, Unilever, Sharnbrook, UK
| | - Renato de-Ávila
- Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre, Unilever, Sharnbrook, UK
| | - Sandrine Spriggs
- Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre, Unilever, Sharnbrook, UK
| | - Nicola Gilmour
- Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre, Unilever, Sharnbrook, UK
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Baudiffier D, Audouze K, Armant O, Frelon S, Charles S, Beaudouin R, Cosio C, Payrastre L, Siaussat D, Burgeot T, Mauffret A, Degli Esposti D, Mougin C, Delaunay D, Coumoul X. Editorial trend: adverse outcome pathway (AOP) and computational strategy - towards new perspectives in ecotoxicology. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2024; 31:6587-6596. [PMID: 37966636 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-30647-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
The adverse outcome pathway (AOP) has been conceptualized in 2010 as an analytical construct to describe a sequential chain of causal links between key events, from a molecular initiating event leading to an adverse outcome (AO), considering several levels of biological organization. An AOP aims to identify and organize available knowledge about toxic effects of chemicals and drugs, either in ecotoxicology or toxicology, and it can be helpful in both basic and applied research and serve as a decision-making tool in support of regulatory risk assessment. The AOP concept has evolved since its introduction, and recent research in toxicology, based on integrative systems biology and artificial intelligence, gave it a new dimension. This innovative in silico strategy can help to decipher mechanisms of action and AOP and offers new perspectives in AOP development. However, to date, this strategy has not yet been applied to ecotoxicology. In this context, the main objective of this short article is to discuss the relevance and feasibility of transferring this strategy to ecotoxicology. One of the challenges to be discussed is the level of organisation that is relevant to address for the AO (population/community). This strategy also offers many advantages that could be fruitful in ecotoxicology and overcome the lack of time, such as the rapid identification of data available at a time t, or the identification of "data gaps". Finally, this article proposes a step forward with suggested priority topics in ecotoxicology that could benefit from this strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Karine Audouze
- Université Paris Cité - INSERM T3S, 45 rue des Saints-Pères, 75006, Paris, France
| | - Olivier Armant
- Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN), Pôle Santé-Environnement, Lez-Durance, F-13115, Saint-Paul, France
| | - Sandrine Frelon
- Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN), Pôle Santé-Environnement, Lez-Durance, F-13115, Saint-Paul, France
| | - Sandrine Charles
- University of Lyon 1 - CNRS, UMR 5558, Laboratory of Biometry and Evolutionary Biology, F-69622, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Remy Beaudouin
- UMR-I 02 SEBIO - INERIS - Parc Technologique ALATA, 60550, Verneuil-en-Halatte, France
| | - Claudia Cosio
- Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne - UMR-I 02 INERIS-URCA-ULHN SEBIO, Campus Moulin de la Housse, 51687, Reims, France
| | - Laurence Payrastre
- UMR 1331 TOXALIM - INRAE, 180 chemin de Tournefeuille, F-31027, Toulouse, France
| | - David Siaussat
- Institut d'écologie et sciences environnementales de Paris - Sorbonne Université - CNRS - INRAE - IRD - UPEC - Université de Paris Cité, 4 Place Jussieu Sorbonne Université - Campus Pierre et Marie Curie Barre 44-45, 3e étage, bureau 310, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Thierry Burgeot
- IFREMER - Unit of Research CCEM Contamination Chimique des Ecosystèmes marins, F-44000, Nantes, France
| | - Aourell Mauffret
- IFREMER - Unit of Research CCEM Contamination Chimique des Ecosystèmes marins, F-44000, Nantes, France
| | | | - Christian Mougin
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR EcoSys, 91120, Palaiseau, France
| | | | - Xavier Coumoul
- Université Paris Cité - INSERM T3S, 45 rue des Saints-Pères, 75006, Paris, France
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11
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Elkin ER, Campbell KA, Lapehn S, Harris SM, Padmanabhan V, Bakulski KM, Paquette AG. Placental single cell transcriptomics: Opportunities for endocrine disrupting chemical toxicology. Mol Cell Endocrinol 2023; 578:112066. [PMID: 37690473 PMCID: PMC10591899 DOI: 10.1016/j.mce.2023.112066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Revised: 09/02/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
The placenta performs essential biologic functions for fetal development throughout pregnancy. Placental dysfunction is at the root of multiple adverse birth outcomes such as intrauterine growth restriction, preeclampsia, and preterm birth. Exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals during pregnancy can cause placental dysfunction, and many prior human studies have examined molecular changes in bulk placental tissues. Placenta-specific cell types, including cytotrophoblasts, syncytiotrophoblasts, extravillous trophoblasts, and placental resident macrophage Hofbauer cells play unique roles in placental development, structure, and function. Toxicant-induced changes in relative abundance and/or impairment of these cell types likely contribute to placental pathogenesis. Although gene expression insights gained from bulk placental tissue RNA-sequencing data are useful, their interpretation is limited because bulk analysis can mask the effects of a chemical on individual populations of placental cells. Cutting-edge single cell RNA-sequencing technologies are enabling the investigation of placental cell-type specific responses to endocrine disrupting chemicals. Moreover, in situ bioinformatic cell deconvolution enables the estimation of cell type proportions in bulk placental tissue gene expression data. These emerging technologies have tremendous potential to provide novel mechanistic insights in a complex heterogeneous tissue with implications for toxicant contributions to adverse pregnancy outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elana R Elkin
- School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA.
| | - Kyle A Campbell
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Samantha Lapehn
- Center for Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Sean M Harris
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Vasantha Padmanabhan
- Department of Pediatrics, Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Kelly M Bakulski
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Alison G Paquette
- Center for Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
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12
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Jia X, Wang T, Zhu H. Advancing Computational Toxicology by Interpretable Machine Learning. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:17690-17706. [PMID: 37224004 PMCID: PMC10666545 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c00653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2023] [Revised: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Chemical toxicity evaluations for drugs, consumer products, and environmental chemicals have a critical impact on human health. Traditional animal models to evaluate chemical toxicity are expensive, time-consuming, and often fail to detect toxicants in humans. Computational toxicology is a promising alternative approach that utilizes machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) techniques to predict the toxicity potentials of chemicals. Although the applications of ML- and DL-based computational models in chemical toxicity predictions are attractive, many toxicity models are "black boxes" in nature and difficult to interpret by toxicologists, which hampers the chemical risk assessments using these models. The recent progress of interpretable ML (IML) in the computer science field meets this urgent need to unveil the underlying toxicity mechanisms and elucidate the domain knowledge of toxicity models. In this review, we focused on the applications of IML in computational toxicology, including toxicity feature data, model interpretation methods, use of knowledge base frameworks in IML development, and recent applications. The challenges and future directions of IML modeling in toxicology are also discussed. We hope this review can encourage efforts in developing interpretable models with new IML algorithms that can assist new chemical assessments by illustrating toxicity mechanisms in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuelian Jia
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey 08028, United States
| | - Tong Wang
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey 08028, United States
| | - Hao Zhu
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey 08028, United States
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13
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Menz J, Götz ME, Gündel U, Gürtler R, Herrmann K, Hessel-Pras S, Kneuer C, Kolrep F, Nitzsche D, Pabel U, Sachse B, Schmeisser S, Schumacher DM, Schwerdtle T, Tralau T, Zellmer S, Schäfer B. Genotoxicity assessment: opportunities, challenges and perspectives for quantitative evaluations of dose-response data. Arch Toxicol 2023; 97:2303-2328. [PMID: 37402810 PMCID: PMC10404208 DOI: 10.1007/s00204-023-03553-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/06/2023]
Abstract
Genotoxicity data are mainly interpreted in a qualitative way, which typically results in a binary classification of chemical entities. For more than a decade, there has been a discussion about the need for a paradigm shift in this regard. Here, we review current opportunities, challenges and perspectives for a more quantitative approach to genotoxicity assessment. Currently discussed opportunities mainly include the determination of a reference point (e.g., a benchmark dose) from genetic toxicity dose-response data, followed by calculation of a margin of exposure (MOE) or derivation of a health-based guidance value (HBGV). In addition to new opportunities, major challenges emerge with the quantitative interpretation of genotoxicity data. These are mainly rooted in the limited capability of standard in vivo genotoxicity testing methods to detect different types of genetic damage in multiple target tissues and the unknown quantitative relationships between measurable genotoxic effects and the probability of experiencing an adverse health outcome. In addition, with respect to DNA-reactive mutagens, the question arises whether the widely accepted assumption of a non-threshold dose-response relationship is at all compatible with the derivation of a HBGV. Therefore, at present, any quantitative genotoxicity assessment approach remains to be evaluated case-by-case. The quantitative interpretation of in vivo genotoxicity data for prioritization purposes, e.g., in connection with the MOE approach, could be seen as a promising opportunity for routine application. However, additional research is needed to assess whether it is possible to define a genotoxicity-derived MOE that can be considered indicative of a low level of concern. To further advance quantitative genotoxicity assessment, priority should be given to the development of new experimental methods to provide a deeper mechanistic understanding and a more comprehensive basis for the analysis of dose-response relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob Menz
- Department of Food Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Mario E Götz
- Department of Food Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ulrike Gündel
- Department of Chemical and Product Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany
| | - Rainer Gürtler
- Department of Food Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany
| | - Kristin Herrmann
- Department of Pesticides Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stefanie Hessel-Pras
- Department of Food Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany
| | - Carsten Kneuer
- Department of Pesticides Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany
| | - Franziska Kolrep
- Department of Safety in the Food Chain, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany
| | - Dana Nitzsche
- Department of Chemical and Product Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ulrike Pabel
- Department of Safety in the Food Chain, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany
| | - Benjamin Sachse
- Department of Food Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sebastian Schmeisser
- Department of Chemical and Product Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany
| | - David M Schumacher
- Department of Safety in the Food Chain, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany
| | - Tanja Schwerdtle
- German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany
| | - Tewes Tralau
- Department of Pesticides Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sebastian Zellmer
- Department of Chemical and Product Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany
| | - Bernd Schäfer
- Department of Food Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589, Berlin, Germany
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14
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Burbank M, Gautier F, Hewitt N, Detroyer A, Guillet-Revol L, Carron L, Wildemann T, Bringel T, Riu A, Noel-Voisin A, De Croze N, Léonard M, Ouédraogo G. Advancing the use of new approach methodologies for assessing teratogenicity: Building a tiered approach. Reprod Toxicol 2023; 120:108454. [PMID: 37543254 DOI: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2023.108454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 08/07/2023]
Abstract
Many New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) have been developed for the safety assessment of new ingredients. Research into reproductive toxicity and teratogenicity is a particularly high priority, especially given their mechanistic complexity. Forty-six non-teratogenic and 39 teratogenic chemicals were screened for teratogenic potential using the in silico DART model from the OECD QSAR Toolbox; the devTox quickPredict™ (devTox assay) test and the Zebrafish Embryotoxicity Test (ZET). The sensitivity and specificity were 94.7% and 84.1%, respectively, for the DART tree (83 chemicals), 86.1% and 35.6% for the devTox (81 chemicals) and 77.8% and 76.7% for the ZET (57 chemicals). Fifty-three chemicals were tested in all three assays and when results were combined and based on a "2 out of 3 rule", the sensitivity and specificity were 96.0% and 71.4%, respectively. The specificity of the devTox assay for a sub-set of 43 chemicals was increased from 26.1% to 82.6% by incorporating human plasma concentrations into the assay interpretation. When all 85 chemicals were assessed in a decision tree approach, there was an excellent predictivity and assay robustness of 90%. In conclusion, all three models exhibited a good sensitivity and specificity, especially when outcomes from all three were combined or used in "2 out of 3" or a tiered decision tree approach. The latter is an interesting predictive approach for evaluating the teratogenic potential of new chemicals. Future investigations will extend the number of chemicals tested, as well as explore ways to refine the results and obtain a robust Integrated Testing Strategy to evaluate teratogenic potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Burbank
- L'Oréal Research & Innovation, France.
| | - F Gautier
- L'Oréal Research & Innovation, France
| | | | | | | | - L Carron
- L'Oréal Research & Innovation, France
| | | | - T Bringel
- L'Oréal Research & Innovation, France
| | - A Riu
- L'Oréal Research & Innovation, France
| | | | | | - M Léonard
- L'Oréal Research & Innovation, France
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15
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Suciu I, Pamies D, Peruzzo R, Wirtz PH, Smirnova L, Pallocca G, Hauck C, Cronin MTD, Hengstler JG, Brunner T, Hartung T, Amelio I, Leist M. G × E interactions as a basis for toxicological uncertainty. Arch Toxicol 2023; 97:2035-2049. [PMID: 37258688 PMCID: PMC10256652 DOI: 10.1007/s00204-023-03500-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
To transfer toxicological findings from model systems, e.g. animals, to humans, standardized safety factors are applied to account for intra-species and inter-species variabilities. An alternative approach would be to measure and model the actual compound-specific uncertainties. This biological concept assumes that all observed toxicities depend not only on the exposure situation (environment = E), but also on the genetic (G) background of the model (G × E). As a quantitative discipline, toxicology needs to move beyond merely qualitative G × E concepts. Research programs are required that determine the major biological variabilities affecting toxicity and categorize their relative weights and contributions. In a complementary approach, detailed case studies need to explore the role of genetic backgrounds in the adverse effects of defined chemicals. In addition, current understanding of the selection and propagation of adverse outcome pathways (AOP) in different biological environments is very limited. To improve understanding, a particular focus is required on modulatory and counter-regulatory steps. For quantitative approaches to address uncertainties, the concept of "genetic" influence needs a more precise definition. What is usually meant by this term in the context of G × E are the protein functions encoded by the genes. Besides the gene sequence, the regulation of the gene expression and function should also be accounted for. The widened concept of past and present "gene expression" influences is summarized here as Ge. Also, the concept of "environment" needs some re-consideration in situations where exposure timing (Et) is pivotal: prolonged or repeated exposure to the insult (chemical, physical, life style) affects Ge. This implies that it changes the model system. The interaction of Ge with Et might be denoted as Ge × Et. We provide here general explanations and specific examples for this concept and show how it could be applied in the context of New Approach Methodologies (NAM).
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilinca Suciu
- In Vitro Toxicology and Biomedicine, Department Inaugurated By the Doerenkamp-Zbinden Foundation, University of Konstanz, Universitaetsstr. 10, 78457, Constance, Germany
| | - David Pamies
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lausanne, 1005, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Roberta Peruzzo
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Petra H Wirtz
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78457, Constance, Germany
- Biological Work and Health Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, 78457, Constance, Germany
| | - Lena Smirnova
- Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT), Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | | | - Christof Hauck
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457, Constance, Germany
| | - Mark T D Cronin
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L3 3AF, UK
| | - Jan G Hengstler
- Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Technical University Dortmund, 44139, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Thomas Brunner
- Biochemical Pharmacology, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457, Constance, Germany
| | - Thomas Hartung
- Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT), Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
- CAAT Europe, University of Konstanz, 78457, Constance, Germany
| | - Ivano Amelio
- Division for Systems Toxicology, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457, Constance, Germany
| | - Marcel Leist
- In Vitro Toxicology and Biomedicine, Department Inaugurated By the Doerenkamp-Zbinden Foundation, University of Konstanz, Universitaetsstr. 10, 78457, Constance, Germany.
- CAAT Europe, University of Konstanz, 78457, Constance, Germany.
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16
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Wohlleben W, Mehling A, Landsiedel R. Lessons Learned from the Grouping of Chemicals to Assess Risks to Human Health. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023; 62:e202210651. [PMID: 36254879 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202210651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Revised: 10/15/2022] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
In analogy to the periodic system that groups elements by their similarity in structure and chemical properties, the hazard of chemicals can be assessed in groups having similar structures and similar toxicological properties. Here we review case studies of chemical grouping strategies that supported the assessment of hazard, exposure, and risk to human health. By the EU-REACH and the US-TSCA New Chemicals Program, structural similarity is commonly used as the basis for grouping, but that criterion is not always adequate and sufficient. Based on the lessons learned, we derive ten principles for grouping, including: transparency of the purpose, criteria, and boundaries of the group; adequacy of methods used to justify the group; and inclusion or exclusion of substances in the group by toxicological properties. These principles apply to initial grouping to prioritize further actions as well as to definitive grouping to generate data for risk assessment. Both can expedite effective risk management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wendel Wohlleben
- Department of Analytical and Material Science, BASF SE, 67056, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany
- Department of Experimental Toxicology and Ecology, BASF SE, 67056, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany
| | - Annette Mehling
- Dept. of Advanced Formulation and Performance Technology, BASF Personal Care and Nutrition GmbH, 40589, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Robert Landsiedel
- Department of Experimental Toxicology and Ecology, BASF SE, 67056, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany
- Free University of Berlin, Biology, Chemistry and Pharmacy-Pharmacology and Toxicology, 14195, Berlin, Germany
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17
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Singer A, Nickisch D, Gergs A. Joint survival modelling for multiple species exposed to toxicants. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 857:159266. [PMID: 36228790 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Revised: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
In environmental risk assessment (ERA), the multitude of compounds and taxa demands cross-species extrapolation to cover the variability in sensitivity to toxicants. However, only the impact of a single compound to a single species is addressed by the general unified threshold model of survival (GUTS). The reduced GUTS is the recommended model to analyse lethal toxic effects in regulatory aquatic ERA. GUTS considers toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics. Two toxicodynamic approaches are considered: Stochastic death (SD) assumes that survival decreases with an increasing internalized amount of the toxicant. Individual tolerance (IT) assumes that individuals vary in their tolerance to toxic exposure. Existing theory suggests that the product of the threshold zw and killing rate bw (both SD toxicodynamic parameters) are constant across species or compounds if receptors and target sites are shared. We extend that theory and show that the shape parameter β of the loglogistic threshold distribution in IT is also constant. To verify the predicted relationships, we conducted three tests using toxicity studies for eight arthropods exposed to the insecticide flupyradifurone. We confirmed previous verifications of the relation- between SD parameters, and the newly established relation for the IT parameter β. We enhanced GUTS to jointly model survival for multiple species with shared receptors and pathways by incorporating the relations among toxicodynamic parameters described above. The joint GUTS exploits the shared parameter relations and therefore constrains parameter uncertainty for each of the separate species. Particularly for IT, the joint GUTS more precisely predicted risk to the separate species than the standard single species GUTS under environmentally realistic exposure. We suggest that joint GUTS modelling can improve cross-species extrapolation in regulatory ERA by increasing the reliability of risk estimates and reducing animal testing. Furthermore, the shared toxicodynamic response provides potential to reduce complexity of ecosystem models.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Dirk Nickisch
- RIFCON GmbH, Goldbeckstraße 13, 69493 Hirschberg, Germany.
| | - André Gergs
- Bayer AG, Crop Science Division, Alfred-Nobel Straße 50, 40789 Monheim, Germany.
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18
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Using chemical and biological data to predict drug toxicity. SLAS DISCOVERY : ADVANCING LIFE SCIENCES R & D 2023; 28:53-64. [PMID: 36639032 DOI: 10.1016/j.slasd.2022.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2022] [Revised: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/31/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Various sources of information can be used to better understand and predict compound activity and safety-related endpoints, including biological data such as gene expression and cell morphology. In this review, we first introduce types of chemical, in vitro and in vivo information that can be used to describe compounds and adverse effects. We then explore how compound descriptors based on chemical structure or biological perturbation response can be used to predict safety-related endpoints, and how especially biological data can help us to better understand adverse effects mechanistically. Overall, the described applications demonstrate how large-scale biological information presents new opportunities to anticipate and understand the biological effects of compounds, and how this can support predictive toxicology and drug discovery projects.
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19
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Zhu H, Zhang H, Lu K, Yang S, Tang X, Zhou M, Sun G, Zhang Z, Chu H. Chlorinated Organophosphate Flame Retardants Impair the Lung Function via the IL-6/JAK/STAT Signaling Pathway. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:17858-17869. [PMID: 36480654 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c05357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Toxicological studies have revealed the adverse impacts of organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) on the respiratory system, while there is a lack of epidemiological evidence, and information for risk assessment remains insufficient. Herein, we investigated the associations of urinary metabolites of OPFRs with the lung function in 987 adults participating in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2012. The elevation of three primary metabolites of chlorinated OPFRs [bis(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (BDCIPP), bis(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (BCEP), and bis(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (BCIPP)] was related to pulmonary dysfunction in a sample-weighted regression model. Each one-unit increase in the log-transformed levels of BDCIPP and BCEP was related to 91.52 and 79.34 mL reductions in the forced vital capacity (FVC). Each one-unit elevation in BCIPP was correlated with 130.86, 153.56, 302.26, and 148.24 mL reductions in forced expiratory volume 1st second (FEV1), FVC, peak expiratory flow rate (PEF), and forced expiratory flow at 25-75% of FVC (FEF25-75%), respectively. Then, an adverse outcome pathway (AOP) framework was constructed using the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database, the Toxicity Forecaster, and the GeneCards database. Based on the weight of the evidence, BDCIPP, BCEP, BCIPP, and their parent compounds (TDCIPP, TCEP, and TCIPP) may affect the IL-6/Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) pathway, induce airway remodeling, and impair the lung function. Additionally, tobacco smoke exposure may modify the effects of BDCIPP on the lung function (Pint < 0.05) and affect the IL-6-mediated AOP. These results suggested that chlorinated OPFRs were associated with pulmonary dysfunction via the IL-6/JAK/STAT pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huanhuan Zhu
- Department of Environmental Genomics, Institute of Healthy Jiangsu Development, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Personalized Medicine, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, Jiangsu, China
- Department of Genetic Toxicology, The Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, Center of Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, Jiangsu, China
| | - Huilin Zhang
- Department of Environmental Genomics, Institute of Healthy Jiangsu Development, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Personalized Medicine, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, Jiangsu, China
- Department of Genetic Toxicology, The Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, Center of Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, Jiangsu, China
| | - Kai Lu
- Department of Environmental Genomics, Institute of Healthy Jiangsu Development, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Personalized Medicine, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, Jiangsu, China
- Department of Genetic Toxicology, The Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, Center of Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, Jiangsu, China
| | - Sheng Yang
- Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xiying Tang
- Department of Environmental Genomics, Institute of Healthy Jiangsu Development, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Personalized Medicine, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, Jiangsu, China
- Department of Genetic Toxicology, The Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, Center of Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, Jiangsu, China
| | - Meiyu Zhou
- Department of Environmental Genomics, Institute of Healthy Jiangsu Development, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Personalized Medicine, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, Jiangsu, China
- Department of Genetic Toxicology, The Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, Center of Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, Jiangsu, China
| | - Guanting Sun
- Department of Environmental Genomics, Institute of Healthy Jiangsu Development, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Personalized Medicine, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, Jiangsu, China
- Department of Genetic Toxicology, The Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, Center of Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, Jiangsu, China
| | - Zhengdong Zhang
- Department of Environmental Genomics, Institute of Healthy Jiangsu Development, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Personalized Medicine, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, Jiangsu, China
- Department of Genetic Toxicology, The Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, Center of Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, Jiangsu, China
| | - Haiyan Chu
- Department of Environmental Genomics, Institute of Healthy Jiangsu Development, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Cancer Biomarkers, Prevention and Treatment, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Personalized Medicine, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, Jiangsu, China
- Department of Genetic Toxicology, The Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, Center of Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, Jiangsu, China
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20
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Lee KM, Corley R, Jarabek AM, Kleinstreuer N, Paini A, Stucki AO, Bell S. Advancing New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for Tobacco Harm Reduction: Synopsis from the 2021 CORESTA SSPT-NAMs Symposium. TOXICS 2022; 10:760. [PMID: 36548593 PMCID: PMC9781465 DOI: 10.3390/toxics10120760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2022] [Revised: 11/05/2022] [Accepted: 11/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
New approach methodologies (NAMs) are emerging chemical safety assessment tools consisting of in vitro and in silico (computational) methodologies intended to reduce, refine, or replace (3R) various in vivo animal testing methods traditionally used for risk assessment. Significant progress has been made toward the adoption of NAMs for human health and environmental toxicity assessment. However, additional efforts are needed to expand their development and their use in regulatory decision making. A virtual symposium was held during the 2021 Cooperation Centre for Scientific Research Relative to Tobacco (CORESTA) Smoke Science and Product Technology (SSPT) conference (titled "Advancing New Alternative Methods for Tobacco Harm Reduction"), with the goals of introducing the concepts and potential application of NAMs in the evaluation of potentially reduced-risk (PRR) tobacco products. At the symposium, experts from regulatory agencies, research organizations, and NGOs shared insights on the status of available tools, strengths, limitations, and opportunities in the application of NAMs using case examples from safety assessments of chemicals and tobacco products. Following seven presentations providing background and application of NAMs, a discussion was held where the presenters and audience discussed the outlook for extending the NAMs toxicological applications for tobacco products. The symposium, endorsed by the CORESTA In Vitro Tox Subgroup, Biomarker Subgroup, and NextG Tox Task Force, illustrated common ground and interest in science-based engagement across the scientific community and stakeholders in support of tobacco regulatory science. Highlights of the symposium are summarized in this paper.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Richard Corley
- Greek Creek Toxicokinetics Consulting, LLC, Boise, ID 83714, USA
| | - Annie M. Jarabek
- Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA
| | - Nicole Kleinstreuer
- National Toxicology Program Interagency Center for Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods (NICEATM), Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA
| | - Alicia Paini
- European Commission Joint Research Center (EC JRC), 2749 Ispra, Italy
| | - Andreas O. Stucki
- PETA Science Consortium International e.V., 70499 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Shannon Bell
- Inotiv-RTP, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
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21
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Warner RM, Sweeney LM, Hayhurst BA, Mayo ML. Toxicokinetic Modeling of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Concentrations within Developing Zebrafish ( Danio rerio) Populations. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:13189-13199. [PMID: 36055240 PMCID: PMC9494737 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c02942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Revised: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2022] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are pervasive environmental contaminants, and their relative stability and high bioaccumulation potential create a challenging risk assessment problem. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) data, in principle, can be synthesized within a quantitative adverse outcome pathway (qAOP) framework to link molecular activity with individual or population level hazards. However, even as qAOP models are still in their infancy, there is a need to link internal dose and toxicity endpoints in a more rigorous way to further not only qAOP models but adverse outcome pathway frameworks in general. We address this problem by suggesting refinements to the current state of toxicokinetic modeling for the early development zebrafish exposed to PFAS up to 120 h post-fertilization. Our approach describes two key physiological transformation phenomena of the developing zebrafish: dynamic volume of an individual and dynamic hatching of a population. We then explore two different modeling strategies to describe the mass transfer, with one strategy relying on classical kinetic rates and the other incorporating mechanisms of membrane transport and adsorption/binding potential. Moving forward, we discuss the challenges of extending this model in both timeframe and chemical class, in conjunction with providing a conceptual framework for its integration with ongoing qAOP modeling efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ross M. Warner
- Oak
Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830, United States
- Environmental
Laboratory, US Army Engineer Research and
Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi 39180, United States
| | - Lisa M. Sweeney
- UES,
Inc., assigned to US Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson
Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio 45432, United
States
| | - Brett A. Hayhurst
- Environmental
Laboratory, US Army Engineer Research and
Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi 39180, United States
- Department
of Natural Resources and the Environment, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Michael L. Mayo
- Environmental
Laboratory, US Army Engineer Research and
Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi 39180, United States
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22
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Stainforth R, Vuong N, Adam N, Kuo B, Wilkins RC, Yauk C, Beheshti A, Chauhan V. Benchmark dose modeling of transcriptional data: a systematic approach to identify best practices for study designs used in radiation research. Int J Radiat Biol 2022; 98:1832-1844. [PMID: 35939275 DOI: 10.1080/09553002.2022.2110300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Benchmark dose (BMD) modeling is a method commonly used in chemical toxicology to identify the point of departure (POD) from a dose-response curve linked to a health-related outcome. Recently, it is being explored on transcriptional data and in adverse outcome pathways (AOPs). As AOPs are informed by diverse data types, it is important to understand the impact of study parameters such as dose selection, number of replicates and dose range on BMD outputs for radiation induced genes and pathways. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data were selected from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GSE52403) that featured gene expression profiles of peripheral blood samples from C57BL/6 mice 6 hours post-exposure to 137Cs gamma-radiation at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4.5, 6, 8 and 10.5 Gy. The dataset comprised a broad dose-range over multiple dose-points with consistent dose spacing and multiple biological replicates. This dataset was ideal for systematically transforming across three categories: (1) dose-range, (2) dose-spacing and (3) number of controls/replicates. Across these categories, 29 transformed datasets were compared to the original dataset to determine the impact of each transformation on the BMD outputs. RESULTS Most of the experimental changes did not impact the BMD outputs. The transformed datasets were largely consistent with the original dataset in terms of number of reproduced genes modeled and absolute BMD values for genes and pathways. Variations in dose selection identified the importance of the absolute value of the lowest and second dose. It was determined that dose selection should include at least two doses <1 Gy and two >5 Gy to achieve meaningful BMD outputs. Changes to the number of biological replicates in the control and non-zero dose groups impacted the overall accuracy and precision of the BMD outputs as well as the ability to fit dose-response models consistent with the original dataset. CONCLUSION Successful application of transcriptomic BMD modeling for radiation datasets requires considerations of the exposure dose and the number of biological replicates. Most important is the selection of the lowest doses and dose spacing. Reflections on these parameters in experimental design will provide meaningful BMD outputs that could correlate well to apical endpoints of relevance to radiation exposure assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ngoc Vuong
- Radiation Protection Bureau, Health Canada, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Nadine Adam
- Consumer and Clinical Radiation Protection Bureau, Health Canada, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Byron Kuo
- Exposure and Biomonitoring Division, Environmental Health Science and Research Bureau, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch
| | - Ruth C Wilkins
- Consumer and Clinical Radiation Protection Bureau, Health Canada, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Carole Yauk
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Afshin Beheshti
- KBR, Space Biosciences Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, 94035, USA.,Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Vinita Chauhan
- Consumer and Clinical Radiation Protection Bureau, Health Canada, Ottawa, Canada
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Abstract
Machine learning and artificial intelligence approaches have revolutionized multiple disciplines, including toxicology. This review summarizes representative recent applications of machine learning and artificial intelligence approaches in different areas of toxicology, including physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling, quantitative structure-activity relationship modeling for toxicity prediction, adverse outcome pathway analysis, high-throughput screening, toxicogenomics, big data and toxicological databases. By leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence approaches, now it is possible to develop PBPK models for hundreds of chemicals efficiently, to create in silico models to predict toxicity for a large number of chemicals with similar accuracies compared to in vivo animal experiments, and to analyze a large amount of different types of data (toxicogenomics, high-content image data, etc.) to generate new insights into toxicity mechanisms rapidly, which was impossible by manual approaches in the past. To continue advancing the field of toxicological sciences, several challenges should be considered: (1) not all machine learning models are equally useful for a particular type of toxicology data, and thus it is important to test different methods to determine the optimal approach; (2) current toxicity prediction is mainly on bioactivity classification (yes/no), so additional studies are needed to predict the intensity of effect or dose-response relationship; (3) as more data become available, it is crucial to perform rigorous data quality check and develop infrastructure to store, share, analyze, evaluate, and manage big data; and (4) it is important to convert machine learning models to user-friendly interfaces to facilitate their applications by both computational and bench scientists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhoumeng Lin
- Department of Environmental and Global Health, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA.,Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology, University of Florida, FL, 32608, USA
| | - Wei-Chun Chou
- Department of Environmental and Global Health, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA.,Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology, University of Florida, FL, 32608, USA
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24
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Mandal M, Levy J, Ives C, Hwang S, Zhou YH, Motsinger-Reif A, Pan H, Huggins W, Hamilton C, Wright F, Edwards S. Correlation Analysis of Variables From the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:883433. [PMID: 35899108 PMCID: PMC9310100 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.883433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The need to test chemicals in a timely and cost-effective manner has driven the development of new alternative methods (NAMs) that utilize in silico and in vitro approaches for toxicity prediction. There is a wealth of existing data from human studies that can aid in understanding the ability of NAMs to support chemical safety assessment. This study aims to streamline the integration of data from existing human cohorts by programmatically identifying related variables within each study. Study variables from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study were clustered based on their correlation within the study. The quality of the clusters was evaluated via a combination of manual review and natural language processing (NLP). We identified 391 clusters including 3,285 variables. Manual review of the clusters containing more than one variable determined that human reviewers considered 95% of the clusters related to some degree. To evaluate potential bias in the human reviewers, clusters were also scored via NLP, which showed a high concordance with the human classification. Clusters were further consolidated into cluster groups using the Louvain community finding algorithm. Manual review of the cluster groups confirmed that clusters within a group were more related than clusters from different groups. Our data-driven approach can facilitate data harmonization and curation efforts by providing human annotators with groups of related variables reflecting the themes present in the data. Reviewing groups of related variables should increase efficiency of the human review, and the number of variables reviewed can be reduced by focusing curator attention on variable groups whose theme is relevant for the topic being studied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meisha Mandal
- GenOmics, Bioinformatics, and Translational Research Center, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States
| | - Josh Levy
- Levy Informatics, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Cataia Ives
- GenOmics, Bioinformatics, and Translational Research Center, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States
| | - Stephen Hwang
- GenOmics, Bioinformatics, and Translational Research Center, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States
| | - Yi-Hui Zhou
- Department of Statistics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
- Bioinformatics Research Center and Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
| | - Alison Motsinger-Reif
- Biostatistics and Computational Biology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Huaqin Pan
- GenOmics, Bioinformatics, and Translational Research Center, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States
| | - Wayne Huggins
- GenOmics, Bioinformatics, and Translational Research Center, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States
| | - Carol Hamilton
- GenOmics, Bioinformatics, and Translational Research Center, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States
| | - Fred Wright
- Department of Statistics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
- Bioinformatics Research Center and Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
| | - Stephen Edwards
- GenOmics, Bioinformatics, and Translational Research Center, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States
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25
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Abstract
There is a need for paradigm change in the methodology employed for toxicological testing and assessment. It could be said that this change is well on its way, through an evolutionary progress analogous to that of natural selection. Darwin's Theory of Evolution has defined the idea of evolution and descendancy since the last third of the 19th century. Increasingly, this concept of 'evolution' is being applied beyond the field of biology. This Comment article discusses the progress of toxicological testing in the context of 'evolutionary pressure' and deliberates how this process can help foster the development, implementation and acceptance of mechanistic and human-relevant methods in this field. By comparing the current regulatory landscape in toxicity testing and assessment to specific elements in Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory, we aim to better understand the needs and requirements for the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Landsiedel
- 5184BASF SE, Experimental Toxicology and Ecology, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany
- Free University of Berlin, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Berlin, Germany
| | - Barbara Birk
- 5184BASF SE, Experimental Toxicology and Ecology, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany
| | - Dorothee Funk-Weyer
- 5184BASF SE, Experimental Toxicology and Ecology, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany
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26
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Liu A, Han N, Munoz-Muriedas J, Bender A. Deriving time-concordant event cascades from gene expression data: A case study for Drug-Induced Liver Injury (DILI). PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1010148. [PMID: 35687583 PMCID: PMC9292124 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Revised: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Adverse event pathogenesis is often a complex process which compromises multiple events ranging from the molecular to the phenotypic level. In toxicology, Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs) aim to formalize this as temporal sequences of events, in which event relationships should be supported by causal evidence according to the tailored Bradford-Hill criteria. One of the criteria is whether events are consistently observed in a certain temporal order and, in this work, we study this time concordance using the concept of “first activation” as data-driven means to generate hypotheses on potentially causal mechanisms. As a case study, we analysed liver data from repeat-dose studies in rats from the TG-GATEs database which comprises measurements across eight timepoints, ranging from 3 hours to 4 weeks post-treatment. We identified time-concordant gene expression-derived events preceding adverse histopathology, which serves as surrogate readout for Drug-Induced Liver Injury (DILI). We find known mechanisms in DILI to be time-concordant, and show further that significance, frequency and log fold change (logFC) of differential expression are metrics which can additionally prioritize events although not necessary to be mechanistically relevant. Moreover, we used the temporal order of transcription factor (TF) expression and regulon activity to identify transcriptionally regulated TFs and subsequently combined this with prior knowledge on functional interactions to derive detailed gene-regulatory mechanisms, such as reduced Hnf4a activity leading to decreased expression and activity of Cebpa. At the same time, also potentially novel events are identified such as Sox13 which is highly significantly time-concordant and shows sustained activation over time. Overall, we demonstrate how time-resolved transcriptomics can derive and support mechanistic hypotheses by quantifying time concordance and how this can be combined with prior causal knowledge, with the aim of both understanding mechanisms of toxicity, as well as potential applications to the AOP framework. We make our results available in the form of a Shiny app (https://anikaliu.shinyapps.io/dili_cascades), which allows users to query events of interest in more detail. Understanding mechanisms from systems-scale biological data is of great relevance in toxicology as well as drug discovery; however how to generate causal hypotheses instead of correlations is by no means clear. In this work, we study the conserved temporal order of events and present an automatable framework to quantify and characterize time concordance across a large set of time-series. We apply this concept to events derived from time-resolved gene expression and histopathology from the TG-GATEs in vivo liver data as a case study. We were able to recover known events involved in the pathogenesis of Drug-Induced Liver Injury (DILI), and identify potentially novel pathway and transcription factors (TFs) which precede adverse histopathology. As complementary sources of evidence for causality, we additionally show how time concordance and prior knowledge on plausible interactions between TFs can be combined to derive causal hypotheses on the TFs’ mode of regulation and interaction partners. Overall, the results derived in our case study can serve as valuable hypothesis-free starting points for the development of Adverse Outcome Pathways for DILI, and demonstrate that our approach provides a novel angle to prioritize mechanistically relevant events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anika Liu
- Milner Therapeutics Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Systems Modelling and Translational Biology, Data and Computational Sciences, GSK, London, United Kingdom
- Centre for Molecular Informatics, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (AL); (AB)
| | - Namshik Han
- Milner Therapeutics Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Cambridge Centre for AI in Medicine, Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Jordi Munoz-Muriedas
- Systems Modelling and Translational Biology, Data and Computational Sciences, GSK, London, United Kingdom
- Computer-Aided Drug Design, UCB, Slough, United Kingdom
| | - Andreas Bender
- Centre for Molecular Informatics, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (AL); (AB)
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27
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Jeong J, Choi J. Quantitative adverse outcome pathway (qAOP) using bayesian network model on comparative toxicity of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs): safe-by-design approach. Nanotoxicology 2022; 16:679-694. [PMID: 36353843 DOI: 10.1080/17435390.2022.2140615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
While the various physicochemical properties of engineered nanomaterials influence their toxicities, their understanding is still incomplete. A predictive framework is required to develop safe nanomaterials, and a Bayesian network (BN) model based on adverse outcome pathway (AOP) can be utilized for this purpose. In this study, to explore the applicability of the AOP-based BN model in the development of safe nanomaterials, a comparative study was conducted on the change in the probability of toxicity pathways in response to changes in the dimensions and surface functionalization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Based on the results of our previous study, we developed an AOP leading to cell death, and the experimental results were collected in human liver cells (HepG2) and bronchial epithelium cells (Beas-2B). The BN model was trained on these data to identify probabilistic causal relationships between key events. The results indicated that dimensions were the main influencing factor for lung cells, whereas -OH or -COOH surface functionalization and aspect ratio were the main influencing factors for liver cells. Endoplasmic reticulum stress was found to be a more sensitive pathway for dimensional changes, and oxidative stress was a more sensitive pathway for surface functionalization. Overall, our results suggest that the AOP-based BN model can be used to provide a scientific basis for the development of safe nanomaterials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaeseong Jeong
- School of Environmental Engineering, University of Seoul, Seoul, Korea
| | - Jinhee Choi
- School of Environmental Engineering, University of Seoul, Seoul, Korea
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28
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Piersma AH, Baker NC, Daston GP, Flick B, Fujiwara M, Knudsen TB, Spielmann H, Suzuki N, Tsaioun K, Kojima H. Pluripotent stem cell assays: Modalities and applications for predictive developmental toxicity. Curr Res Toxicol 2022; 3:100074. [PMID: 35633891 PMCID: PMC9130094 DOI: 10.1016/j.crtox.2022.100074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Revised: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
This manuscript provides a review focused on embryonic stem cell-based models and their place within the landscape of alternative developmental toxicity assays. Against the background of the principles of developmental toxicology, the wide diversity of alternative methods using pluripotent stem cells developed in this area over the past half century is reviewed. In order to provide an overview of available models, a systematic scoping review was conducted following a published protocol with inclusion criteria, which were applied to select the assays. Critical aspects including biological domain, readout endpoint, availability of standardized protocols, chemical domain, reproducibility and predictive power of each assay are described in detail, in order to review the applicability and limitations of the platform in general and progress moving forward to implementation. The horizon of innovative routes of promoting regulatory implementation of alternative methods is scanned, and recommendations for further work are given.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aldert H. Piersma
- Center for Health Protection, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | | | - George P. Daston
- Global Product Stewardship, The Procter & Gamble Company, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Burkhard Flick
- Experimental Toxicology and Ecology, BASF SE, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany
| | - Michio Fujiwara
- Drug Safety Research Labs, Astellas Pharma Inc., Tsukuba-shi, Japan
| | - Thomas B. Knudsen
- Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, USA
| | - Horst Spielmann
- Institute for Pharmacy, Faculty of Biology, Chemistry, and Pharmacy, Freie Universität, Berlin, Germany
| | - Noriyuki Suzuki
- Cell Science Group Environmental Health Science Laboratory, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd., Osaka, Japan
| | - Katya Tsaioun
- Evidence-Based Toxicology Collaboration at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Hajime Kojima
- National Institute of Health Sciences, Kawasaki, Japan
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29
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Pípal M, Wiklund L, Caccia S, Beronius A. Assessment of endocrine disruptive properties of PFOS: EFSA/ECHA guidance case study utilising AOP networks and alternative methods. EFSA J 2022; 20:e200418. [PMID: 35634558 PMCID: PMC9131586 DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2022.e200418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Endocrine disruptors (EDs) are chemical substances that interfere with the endocrine system, adversely affecting human health and environment. Legislation with aim to eliminate and ban EDs have been introduced in EU, but the identification of EDs remains challenging and crucial step towards regulation and risk management. A guidance for ED assessment has been recently established for pesticides and biocides in the EU, which heavily relies on traditional toxicological testing in vivo. Most notably lacking mechanistic methods for some ED modalities and not covering many other modalities that might be affected by EDs. In this project, we focus on the ED assessment according to the valid legislation and explore the possibility to employ alternative methods to bolster the mechanistic understanding of the ED effects and eventually decrease the need for in vivo testing. We selected a well‐studied industrial chemical perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) to be a model compound in a case study for ED assessment where the EU criteria were applied in the frame of human health risk assessment with focus on thyroid disruption and developmental neurotoxicity. A systematic literature review has been conducted for these effects (Scopus, Pubmed, Embase), and relevant studies were selected by title/abstract screening (RAYYAN) and full‐text examination. Selected studies were assessed for reliability (SciRAP), and all relevant data were extracted into a database and assessed by Weight of Evidence (WoE) approach. The initial analysis showed potential endocrine adverse effects and endocrine activity, meeting the ED criteria. The use of mechanistic and alternative methods enhanced the outcomes of WoE assessment. Also, the study provides a great hands‐on experience with the most up‐to‐date development in the area of risk assessment and EDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marek Pípal
- Institute of Environmental Medicine Karolinska Institutet Sweden
| | - Linus Wiklund
- Institute of Environmental Medicine Karolinska Institutet Sweden
| | - Sara Caccia
- Institute of Environmental Medicine Karolinska Institutet Sweden
| | - Anna Beronius
- Institute of Environmental Medicine Karolinska Institutet Sweden
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Jarzina S, Di Fiore S, Ellinger B, Reiser P, Frank S, Glaser M, Wu J, Taverne FJ, Kramer NI, Mally A. Application of the Adverse Outcome Pathway Concept to In Vitro Nephrotoxicity Assessment: Kidney Injury due to Receptor-Mediated Endocytosis and Lysosomal Overload as a Case Study. FRONTIERS IN TOXICOLOGY 2022; 4:864441. [PMID: 35516525 PMCID: PMC9061999 DOI: 10.3389/ftox.2022.864441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Application of adverse outcome pathways (AOP) and integration of quantitative in vitro to in vivo extrapolation (QIVIVE) may support the paradigm shift in toxicity testing to move from apical endpoints in test animals to more mechanism-based in vitro assays. Here, we developed an AOP of proximal tubule injury linking a molecular initiating event (MIE) to a cascade of key events (KEs) leading to lysosomal overload and ultimately to cell death. This AOP was used as a case study to adopt the AOP concept for systemic toxicity testing and risk assessment based on in vitro data. In this AOP, nephrotoxicity is thought to result from receptor-mediated endocytosis (MIE) of the chemical stressor, disturbance of lysosomal function (KE1), and lysosomal disruption (KE2) associated with release of reactive oxygen species and cytotoxic lysosomal enzymes that induce cell death (KE3). Based on this mechanistic framework, in vitro readouts reflecting each KE were identified. Utilizing polymyxin antibiotics as chemical stressors for this AOP, the dose-response for each in vitro endpoint was recorded in proximal tubule cells from rat (NRK-52E) and human (RPTEC/TERT1) in order to (1) experimentally support the sequence of key events (KEs), to (2) establish quantitative relationships between KEs as a basis for prediction of downstream KEs based on in vitro data reflecting early KEs and to (3) derive suitable in vitro points of departure for human risk assessment. Time-resolved analysis was used to support the temporal sequence of events within this AOP. Quantitative response-response relationships between KEs established from in vitro data on polymyxin B were successfully used to predict in vitro toxicity of other polymyxin derivatives. Finally, a physiologically based kinetic (PBK) model was utilized to transform in vitro effect concentrations to a human equivalent dose for polymyxin B. The predicted in vivo effective doses were in the range of therapeutic doses known to be associated with a risk for nephrotoxicity. Taken together, these data provide proof-of-concept for the feasibility of in vitro based risk assessment through integration of mechanistic endpoints and reverse toxicokinetic modelling.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Stefano Di Fiore
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Division Molecular Biotechnology Aachen, Aachen, Germany
| | - Bernhard Ellinger
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Division Translational Medicine, ScreeningPort, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Pia Reiser
- Department of Toxicology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Sabrina Frank
- Department of Toxicology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Markus Glaser
- Department of Toxicology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Jiaqing Wu
- Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
- Toxicology Division, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Femke J. Taverne
- Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
- Host-microbe Interactions, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Nynke I. Kramer
- Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
- Toxicology Division, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Angela Mally
- Department of Toxicology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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Guéguen Y, Frerejacques M. Review of Knowledge of Uranium-Induced Kidney Toxicity for the Development of an Adverse Outcome Pathway to Renal Impairment. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23084397. [PMID: 35457214 PMCID: PMC9030063 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23084397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2022] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
An adverse outcome pathway (AOP) is a conceptual construct of causally and sequentially linked events, which occur during exposure to stressors, with an adverse outcome relevant to risk assessment. The development of an AOP is a means of identifying knowledge gaps in order to prioritize research assessing the health risks associated with exposure to physical or chemical stressors. In this paper, a review of knowledge was proposed, examining experimental and epidemiological data, in order to identify relevant key events and potential key event relationships in an AOP for renal impairment, relevant to stressors such as uranium (U). Other stressors may promote similar pathways, and this review is a necessary step to compare and combine knowledge reported for nephrotoxicants. U metal ions are filtered through the glomerular membrane of the kidneys, then concentrate in the cortical and juxtaglomerular areas, and bind to the brush border membrane of the proximal convoluted tubules. U uptake by epithelial cells occurs through endocytosis and the sodium-dependent phosphate co-transporter (NaPi-IIa). The identified key events start with the inhibition of the mitochondria electron transfer chain and the collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential, due to cytochrome b5/cytochrome c disruption. In the nucleus, U directly interacts with negatively charged DNA phosphate, thereby inducing an adduct formation, and possibly DNA strand breaks or cross-links. U also compromises DNA repair by inhibiting zing finger proteins. Thereafter, U triggers the Nrf2, NF-κB, or endoplasmic reticulum stress pathways. The resulting cellular key events include oxidative stress, DNA strand breaks and chromosomal aberrations, apoptosis, and pro-inflammatory effects. Finally, the main adverse outcome is tubular damage of the S2 and S3 segments of the kidneys, leading to tubular cell death, and then kidney failure. The attribution of renal carcinogenesis due to U is controversial, and specific experimental or epidemiological studies must be conducted. A tentative construction of an AOP for uranium-induced kidney toxicity and failure was proposed.
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Sinitsyn D, Garcia-Reyero N, Watanabe KH. From Qualitative to Quantitative AOP: A Case Study of Neurodegeneration. FRONTIERS IN TOXICOLOGY 2022; 4:838729. [PMID: 35434701 PMCID: PMC9006165 DOI: 10.3389/ftox.2022.838729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) include a sequence of events that connect a molecular-level initiating event with an adverse outcome at the cellular level for human health endpoints, or at the population level for ecological endpoints. When there is enough quantitative understanding of the relationships between key events in an AOP, a mathematical model may be developed to connect key events in a quantitative AOP (qAOP). Ideally, a qAOP will reduce the time and resources spent for chemical toxicity testing and risk assessment and enable the extrapolation of data collected at the molecular-level by in vitro assays, for example, to predict whether an adverse outcome may occur. Here, we review AOPs in the AOPWiki, an AOP repository, to determine best practices that would facilitate conversion from AOP to qAOP. Then, focusing on a particular case study, acetylcholinesterase inhibition leading to neurodegeneration, we describe specific methods and challenges. Examples of challenges include the availability and collection of quantitative data amenable to model development, the lack of studies that measure multiple key events, and model accessibility or transferability across platforms. We conclude with recommendations for improving key event and key event relationship descriptions in the AOPWiki that facilitate the transition of qualitative AOPs to qAOPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis Sinitsyn
- Arizona State University, School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Glendale, AZ, United States
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Environmental Laboratory, US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, MS, United States
| | - Natàlia Garcia-Reyero
- US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Environmental Laboratory, Vicksburg, MS, United States
| | - Karen H. Watanabe
- Arizona State University, School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Glendale, AZ, United States
- *Correspondence: Karen H. Watanabe,
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Edwards SW, Nelms M, Hench VK, Ponder J, Sullivan K. Mapping Mechanistic Pathways of Acute Oral Systemic Toxicity Using Chemical Structure and Bioactivity Measurements. FRONTIERS IN TOXICOLOGY 2022; 4:824094. [PMID: 35295211 PMCID: PMC8915918 DOI: 10.3389/ftox.2022.824094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Regulatory agencies around the world have committed to reducing or eliminating animal testing for establishing chemical safety. Adverse outcome pathways can facilitate replacement by providing a mechanistic framework for identifying the appropriate non-animal methods and connecting them to apical adverse outcomes. This study separated 11,992 chemicals with curated rat oral acute toxicity information into clusters of structurally similar compounds. Each cluster was then assigned one or more ToxCast/Tox21 assays by looking for the minimum number of assays required to record at least one positive hit call below cytotoxicity for all acutely toxic chemicals in the cluster. When structural information is used to select assays for testing, none of the chemicals required more than four assays and 98% required two assays or less. Both the structure-based clusters and activity from the associated assays were significantly associated with the GHS toxicity classification of the chemicals, which suggests that a combination of bioactivity and structural information could be as reproducible as traditional in vivo studies. Predictivity is improved when the in vitro assay directly corresponds to the mechanism of toxicity, but many indirect assays showed promise as well. Given the lower cost of in vitro testing, a small assay battery including both general cytotoxicity assays and two or more orthogonal assays targeting the toxicological mechanism could be used to improve performance further. This approach illustrates the promise of combining existing in silico approaches, such as the Collaborative Acute Toxicity Modeling Suite (CATMoS), with structure-based bioactivity information as part of an efficient tiered testing strategy that can reduce or eliminate animal testing for acute oral toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen W. Edwards
- GenOmics, Bioinformatics, and Translational Research Center, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Mark Nelms
- GenOmics, Bioinformatics, and Translational Research Center, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Virginia K. Hench
- GenOmics, Bioinformatics, and Translational Research Center, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Jessica Ponder
- Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Kristie Sullivan
- Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, DC, United States
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Jin Y, Qi G, Shou Y, Li D, Liu Y, Guan H, Zhang Q, Chen S, Luo J, Xu L, Li C, Ma W, Chen N, Zheng Y, Yu D. High throughput data-based, toxicity pathway-oriented development of a quantitative adverse outcome pathway network linking AHR activation to lung damages. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2022; 425:128041. [PMID: 34906874 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.128041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Revised: 12/05/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The quantitative adverse outcome pathway (qAOP) is proposed to inform dose-responses at multiple biological levels for the purpose of toxicity prediction. So far, qAOP models concerning human health are scarce. Previously, we proposed 5 key molecular pathways that led aryl hydrogen receptor (AHR) activation to lung damages. The present study assembled an AOP network based on the gene expression signatures of these toxicity pathways, and validated the network using publicly available high throughput data combined with machine learning models. In addition, the AOP network was quantitatively evaluated with omics approaches and bioassays, using 16HBE-CYP1A1 cells exposed to benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), a prototypical AHR activator. Benchmark dose (BMD) analysis of transcriptomics revealed that AHR gene held the lowest BMD value, whereas AHR pathway held the lowest point of departure (PoD) compared to the other 4 pathways. Targeted bioassays were further performed to quantitatively understand the cellular responses, including ROS generation, DNA damage, interleukin-6 production, and extracellular matrix increase marked by collagen expression. Eventually, response-response relationships were plotted using nonlinear model fitting. The present study developed a highly reliable AOP model concerning human health, and validated as well as quantitatively evaluated it, and such a method is likely to be adoptable for risk assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Jin
- School of Public Health, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Guangshuai Qi
- School of Public Health, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Yingqing Shou
- School of Public Health, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Daochuan Li
- School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yuzhen Liu
- School of Public Health, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Heyuan Guan
- School of Public Health, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Qianqian Zhang
- School of Public Health, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Shen Chen
- School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jiao Luo
- School of Public Health, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Lin Xu
- School of Public Health, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Chuanhai Li
- School of Public Health, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Wanli Ma
- School of Public Health, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Ningning Chen
- School of Public Health, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Yuxin Zheng
- School of Public Health, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
| | - Dianke Yu
- School of Public Health, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.
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Martyniuk CJ, Martínez R, Navarro-Martín L, Kamstra JH, Schwendt A, Reynaud S, Chalifour L. Emerging concepts and opportunities for endocrine disruptor screening of the non-EATS modalities. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 204:111904. [PMID: 34418449 PMCID: PMC8669078 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.111904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Revised: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are ubiquitous in the environment and involve diverse chemical-receptor interactions that can perturb hormone signaling. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has validated several EDC-receptor bioassays to detect endocrine active chemicals and has established guidelines for regulatory testing of EDCs. Focus on testing over the past decade has been initially directed to EATS modalities (estrogen, androgen, thyroid, and steroidogenesis) and validated tests for chemicals that exert effects through non-EATS modalities are less established. Due to recognition that EDCs are vast in their mechanisms of action, novel bioassays are needed to capture the full scope of activity. Here, we highlight the need for validated assays that detect non-EATS modalities and discuss major international efforts underway to develop such tools for regulatory purposes, focusing on non-EATS modalities of high concern (i.e., retinoic acid, aryl hydrocarbon receptor, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, and glucocorticoid signaling). Two case studies are presented with strong evidence amongst animals and human studies for non-EATS disruption and associations with wildlife and human disease. This includes metabolic syndrome and insulin signaling (case study 1) and chemicals that impact the cardiovascular system (case study 2). This is relevant as obesity and cardiovascular disease represent two of the most significant health-related crises of our time. Lastly, emerging topics related to EDCs are discussed, including recognition of crosstalk between the EATS and non-EATS axis, complex mixtures containing a variety of EDCs, adverse outcome pathways for chemicals acting through non-EATS mechanisms, and novel models for testing chemicals. Recommendations and considerations for evaluating non-EATS modalities are proposed. Moving forward, improved understanding of the non-EATS modalities will lead to integrated testing strategies that can be used in regulatory bodies to protect environmental, animal, and human health from harmful environmental chemicals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J Martyniuk
- Department of Physiological Sciences and Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
| | - Rubén Martínez
- Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, IDAEA-CSIC, Barcelona, Catalunya, 08034, Spain
| | - Laia Navarro-Martín
- Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, IDAEA-CSIC, Barcelona, Catalunya, 08034, Spain
| | - Jorke H Kamstra
- Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Department of Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
| | - Adam Schwendt
- Division of Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, McGill University, 850 Sherbrooke Street, Montréal, Québec, H3A 1A2, Canada; Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, 3755 Chemin Cote Ste Catherine, Montréal, Québec, H3T 1E2, Canada
| | - Stéphane Reynaud
- Univ. Grenoble-Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Lorraine Chalifour
- Division of Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, McGill University, 850 Sherbrooke Street, Montréal, Québec, H3A 1A2, Canada; Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, 3755 Chemin Cote Ste Catherine, Montréal, Québec, H3T 1E2, Canada
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A framework for chemical safety assessment incorporating new approach methodologies within REACH. Arch Toxicol 2022; 96:743-766. [PMID: 35103819 PMCID: PMC8850243 DOI: 10.1007/s00204-021-03215-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The long-term investment in new approach methodologies (NAMs) within the EU and other parts of the world is beginning to result in an emerging consensus of how to use information from in silico, in vitro and targeted in vivo sources to assess the safety of chemicals. However, this methodology is being adopted very slowly for regulatory purposes. Here, we have developed a framework incorporating in silico, in vitro and in vivo methods designed to meet the requirements of REACH in which both hazard and exposure can be assessed using a tiered approach. The outputs from each tier are classification categories, safe doses, and risk assessments, and progress through the tiers depends on the output from previous tiers. We have exemplified the use of the framework with three examples. The outputs were the same or more conservative than parallel assessments based on conventional studies. The framework allows a transparent and phased introduction of NAMs in chemical safety assessment and enables science-based safety decisions which provide the same level of public health protection using fewer animals, taking less time, and using less financial and expert resource. Furthermore, it would also allow new methods to be incorporated as they develop through continuous selective evolution rather than periodic revolution.
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37
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Spînu N, Cronin MT, Lao J, Bal-Price A, Campia I, Enoch SJ, Madden JC, Mora Lagares L, Novič M, Pamies D, Scholz S, Villeneuve DL, Worth AP. Probabilistic modelling of developmental neurotoxicity based on a simplified adverse outcome pathway network. COMPUTATIONAL TOXICOLOGY (AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS) 2022; 21:100206. [PMID: 35211661 PMCID: PMC8857173 DOI: 10.1016/j.comtox.2021.100206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2021] [Revised: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
In a century where toxicology and chemical risk assessment are embracing alternative methods to animal testing, there is an opportunity to understand the causal factors of neurodevelopmental disorders such as learning and memory disabilities in children, as a foundation to predict adverse effects. New testing paradigms, along with the advances in probabilistic modelling, can help with the formulation of mechanistically-driven hypotheses on how exposure to environmental chemicals could potentially lead to developmental neurotoxicity (DNT). This investigation aimed to develop a Bayesian hierarchical model of a simplified AOP network for DNT. The model predicted the probability that a compound induces each of three selected common key events (CKEs) of the simplified AOP network and the adverse outcome (AO) of DNT, taking into account correlations and causal relations informed by the key event relationships (KERs). A dataset of 88 compounds representing pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals and pesticides was compiled including physicochemical properties as well as in silico and in vitro information. The Bayesian model was able to predict DNT potential with an accuracy of 76%, classifying the compounds into low, medium or high probability classes. The modelling workflow achieved three further goals: it dealt with missing values; accommodated unbalanced and correlated data; and followed the structure of a directed acyclic graph (DAG) to simulate the simplified AOP network. Overall, the model demonstrated the utility of Bayesian hierarchical modelling for the development of quantitative AOP (qAOP) models and for informing the use of new approach methodologies (NAMs) in chemical risk assessment.
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Key Words
- ADMET, Absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity
- AO, Adverse outcome
- AOP, Adverse outcome pathway
- Adverse Outcome Pathway
- BBB, Blood-brain-barrier
- BDNF, Brain-derived neurotrophic factor
- Bayesian hierarchical model
- CAS RN, Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number
- CI, Credible interval CKE, Common key event
- CNS, Central nervous system
- CRA, Chemical risk assessment
- Common Key Event
- DAG, Directed acyclic graph
- DNT, Developmental neurotoxicity
- DTXSID, The US EPA Comptox Chemical Dashboard substance identifier
- Developmental Neurotoxicity
- EC, Effective concentration
- HDI, Highest density interval
- IATA, Integrated Approaches to Testing and Assessment
- KE, Key event
- KER, Key event relationship
- LDH, Lactate dehydrogenase
- MCMC, Markov chain Monte Carlo
- MIE, Molecular initiating event
- NAM, New approach methodology
- New Approach Methodology
- OECD, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
- P-gp, P-glycoprotein
- PBK, Physiologically-based kinetic
- QSAR, Quantitative structure-activity relationship
- SMILES, Simplified molecular input line entry system
- qAOP, Quantitative adverse outcome pathway
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicoleta Spînu
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
| | - Mark T.D. Cronin
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
| | - Junpeng Lao
- Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg CH-1700, Switzerland
| | - Anna Bal-Price
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy
| | - Ivana Campia
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy
| | - Steven J. Enoch
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
| | - Judith C. Madden
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
| | - Liadys Mora Lagares
- Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Theory Department, Laboratory for Cheminformatics, National Institute of Chemistry, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Marjana Novič
- Theory Department, Laboratory for Cheminformatics, National Institute of Chemistry, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - David Pamies
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland
- Swiss Centre for Applied Human Toxicology (SCAHT), Switzerland
| | - Stefan Scholz
- Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research − UFZ, Department of Bioanalytical Ecotoxicology, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Daniel L. Villeneuve
- US Environmental Protection Agency, Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division, Duluth, MN 55804, MN, USA
| | - Andrew P. Worth
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy
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Paini A, Campia I, Cronin MT, Asturiol D, Ceriani L, Exner TE, Gao W, Gomes C, Kruisselbrink J, Martens M, Meek MB, Pamies D, Pletz J, Scholz S, Schüttler A, Spînu N, Villeneuve DL, Wittwehr C, Worth A, Luijten M. Towards a qAOP framework for predictive toxicology - Linking data to decisions. COMPUTATIONAL TOXICOLOGY (AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS) 2022; 21:100195. [PMID: 35211660 PMCID: PMC8850654 DOI: 10.1016/j.comtox.2021.100195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Revised: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 10/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The adverse outcome pathway (AOP) is a conceptual construct that facilitates organisation and interpretation of mechanistic data representing multiple biological levels and deriving from a range of methodological approaches including in silico, in vitro and in vivo assays. AOPs are playing an increasingly important role in the chemical safety assessment paradigm and quantification of AOPs is an important step towards a more reliable prediction of chemically induced adverse effects. Modelling methodologies require the identification, extraction and use of reliable data and information to support the inclusion of quantitative considerations in AOP development. An extensive and growing range of digital resources are available to support the modelling of quantitative AOPs, providing a wide range of information, but also requiring guidance for their practical application. A framework for qAOP development is proposed based on feedback from a group of experts and three qAOP case studies. The proposed framework provides a harmonised approach for both regulators and scientists working in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia Paini
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy
| | - Ivana Campia
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy
| | | | - David Asturiol
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy
| | | | - Thomas E. Exner
- Edelweiss Connect GmbH, Technology Park Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Wang Gao
- Institut National de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques (INERIS), Verneuil-en-Halatte, France
| | | | | | | | | | - David Pamies
- Department of Physiology, Lausanne and Swiss Centre for Applied Human Toxicology (SCAHT), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Julia Pletz
- Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Stefan Scholz
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH – UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Andreas Schüttler
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH – UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Nicoleta Spînu
- Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel L. Villeneuve
- US Environmental Protection Agency, Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division, Duluth, MN, USA
| | | | - Andrew Worth
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy
| | - Mirjam Luijten
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands
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Spînu N, Cronin MT, Madden JC, Worth AP. A matter of trust: Learning lessons about causality will make qAOPs credible. COMPUTATIONAL TOXICOLOGY (AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS) 2022; 21:100205. [PMID: 35224319 PMCID: PMC8855346 DOI: 10.1016/j.comtox.2021.100205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2021] [Revised: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Toxicology in the 21st Century has seen a shift from chemical risk assessment based on traditional animal tests, identifying apical endpoints and doses that are "safe", to the prospect of Next Generation Risk Assessment based on non-animal methods. Increasingly, large and high throughput in vitro datasets are being generated and exploited to develop computational models. This is accompanied by an increased use of machine learning approaches in the model building process. A potential problem, however, is that such models, while robust and predictive, may still lack credibility from the perspective of the end-user. In this commentary, we argue that the science of causal inference and reasoning, as proposed by Judea Pearl, will facilitate the development, use and acceptance of quantitative AOP models. Our hope is that by importing established concepts of causality from outside the field of toxicology, we can be "constructively disruptive" to the current toxicological paradigm, using the "Causal Revolution" to bring about a "Toxicological Revolution" more rapidly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicoleta Spînu
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
| | - Mark T.D. Cronin
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
| | - Judith C. Madden
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
| | - Andrew P. Worth
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy
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Overview of Adverse Outcome Pathways and Current Applications on Nanomaterials. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2022; 1357:415-439. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-88071-2_17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Arnesdotter E, Gijbels E, Dos Santos Rodrigues B, Vilas-Boas V, Vinken M. Adverse Outcome Pathways as Versatile Tools in Liver Toxicity Testing. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2425:521-535. [PMID: 35188645 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1960-5_20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) are tools to capture and visualize mechanisms driving toxicological effects. They share a common structure consisting of a molecular initiating event, a series of key events connected by key event relationships and an adverse outcome. Development and evaluation of AOPs ideally comply with guidelines issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. AOPs have been introduced for major types of hepatotoxicity, which is not a surprise, as the liver is a frequent target for systemic adversity. Various applications for AOPs have been proposed in the areas of toxicology and chemical risk assessment, in particular in relation to the establishment of quantitative structure-activity relationships, the elaboration of prioritization strategies, and the development of novel in vitro toxicity screening tests and testing strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Arnesdotter
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Entity of In Vitro Toxicology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Eva Gijbels
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Entity of In Vitro Toxicology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Bruna Dos Santos Rodrigues
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Entity of In Vitro Toxicology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Vânia Vilas-Boas
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Entity of In Vitro Toxicology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Mathieu Vinken
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Entity of In Vitro Toxicology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
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Astuto MC, Di Nicola MR, Tarazona JV, Rortais A, Devos Y, Liem AKD, Kass GEN, Bastaki M, Schoonjans R, Maggiore A, Charles S, Ratier A, Lopes C, Gestin O, Robinson T, Williams A, Kramer N, Carnesecchi E, Dorne JLCM. In Silico Methods for Environmental Risk Assessment: Principles, Tiered Approaches, Applications, and Future Perspectives. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2425:589-636. [PMID: 35188648 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1960-5_23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
This chapter aims to introduce the reader to the basic principles of environmental risk assessment of chemicals and highlights the usefulness of tiered approaches within weight of evidence approaches in relation to problem formulation i.e., data availability, time and resource availability. In silico models are then introduced and include quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models, which support filling data gaps when no chemical property or ecotoxicological data are available. In addition, biologically-based models can be applied in more data rich situations and these include generic or species-specific models such as toxicokinetic-toxicodynamic models, dynamic energy budget models, physiologically based models, and models for ecosystem hazard assessment i.e. species sensitivity distributions and ultimately for landscape assessment i.e. landscape-based modeling approaches. Throughout this chapter, particular attention is given to provide practical examples supporting the application of such in silico models in real-world settings. Future perspectives are discussed to address environmental risk assessment in a more holistic manner particularly for relevant complex questions, such as the risk assessment of multiple stressors and the development of harmonized approaches to ultimately quantify the relative contribution and impact of single chemicals, multiple chemicals and multiple stressors on living organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - A Rortais
- European Food Safety Authority, Parma, Italy
| | - Yann Devos
- European Food Safety Authority, Parma, Italy
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Antony Williams
- Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - Nynke Kramer
- Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Edoardo Carnesecchi
- Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Bassan A, Alves VM, Amberg A, Anger LT, Auerbach S, Beilke L, Bender A, Cronin MT, Cross KP, Hsieh JH, Greene N, Kemper R, Kim MT, Mumtaz M, Noeske T, Pavan M, Pletz J, Russo DP, Sabnis Y, Schaefer M, Szabo DT, Valentin JP, Wichard J, Williams D, Woolley D, Zwickl C, Myatt GJ. In silico approaches in organ toxicity hazard assessment: current status and future needs in predicting liver toxicity. COMPUTATIONAL TOXICOLOGY (AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS) 2021; 20:100187. [PMID: 35340402 PMCID: PMC8955833 DOI: 10.1016/j.comtox.2021.100187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/15/2023]
Abstract
Hepatotoxicity is one of the most frequently observed adverse effects resulting from exposure to a xenobiotic. For example, in pharmaceutical research and development it is one of the major reasons for drug withdrawals, clinical failures, and discontinuation of drug candidates. The development of faster and cheaper methods to assess hepatotoxicity that are both more sustainable and more informative is critically needed. The biological mechanisms and processes underpinning hepatotoxicity are summarized and experimental approaches to support the prediction of hepatotoxicity are described, including toxicokinetic considerations. The paper describes the increasingly important role of in silico approaches and highlights challenges to the adoption of these methods including the lack of a commonly agreed upon protocol for performing such an assessment and the need for in silico solutions that take dose into consideration. A proposed framework for the integration of in silico and experimental information is provided along with a case study describing how computational methods have been used to successfully respond to a regulatory question concerning non-genotoxic impurities in chemically synthesized pharmaceuticals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arianna Bassan
- Innovatune srl, Via Giulio Zanon 130/D, 35129 Padova, Italy
| | - Vinicius M. Alves
- The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Division of the National Toxicology, Program, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Alexander Amberg
- Sanofi, R&D Preclinical Safety Frankfurt, Industriepark Hoechst, D-65926 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | | | - Scott Auerbach
- The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Division of the National Toxicology, Program, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Lisa Beilke
- Toxicology Solutions Inc., San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Andreas Bender
- AI and Data Analytics, Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
- Centre for Molecular Informatics, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW
| | - Mark T.D. Cronin
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, L3 3AF, UK
| | | | - Jui-Hua Hsieh
- The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Division of the National Toxicology, Program, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Nigel Greene
- Data Science and AI, DSM, IMED Biotech Unit, AstraZeneca, Boston, USA
| | - Raymond Kemper
- Nuvalent, One Broadway, 14th floor, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Marlene T. Kim
- US Food and Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Silver Spring, MD, 20993, USA
| | - Moiz Mumtaz
- Office of the Associate Director for Science (OADS), Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease, Registry, US Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Tobias Noeske
- Imaging and Data Analytics, Clinical Pharmacology & Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Manuela Pavan
- Innovatune srl, Via Giulio Zanon 130/D, 35129 Padova, Italy
| | - Julia Pletz
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, L3 3AF, UK
| | - Daniel P. Russo
- Department of Chemistry, Rutgers University, Camden, NJ 08102, USA
- The Rutgers Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Camden, NJ 08102, USA
| | - Yogesh Sabnis
- UCB Biopharma SRL, Chemin du Foriest – B-1420 Braine-l’Alleud, Belgium
| | - Markus Schaefer
- Sanofi, R&D Preclinical Safety Frankfurt, Industriepark Hoechst, D-65926 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | | | | | - Joerg Wichard
- Bayer AG, Genetic Toxicology, Müllerstr. 178, 13353 Berlin, Germany
| | - Dominic Williams
- Functional & Mechanistic Safety, Clinical Pharmacology & Safety Sciences, AstraZeneca, Darwin Building 310, Cambridge Science Park, Milton Rd, Cambridge CB4 0FZ, UK
| | - David Woolley
- ForthTox Limited, PO Box 13550, Linlithgow, EH49 7YU, UK
| | - Craig Zwickl
- Transendix LLC, 1407 Moores Manor, Indianapolis, IN 46229, USA
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Tice RR, Bassan A, Amberg A, Anger LT, Beal MA, Bellion P, Benigni R, Birmingham J, Brigo A, Bringezu F, Ceriani L, Crooks I, Cross K, Elespuru R, Faulkner DM, Fortin MC, Fowler P, Frericks M, Gerets HHJ, Jahnke GD, Jones DR, Kruhlak NL, Lo Piparo E, Lopez-Belmonte J, Luniwal A, Luu A, Madia F, Manganelli S, Manickam B, Mestres J, Mihalchik-Burhans AL, Neilson L, Pandiri A, Pavan M, Rider CV, Rooney JP, Trejo-Martin A, Watanabe-Sailor KH, White AT, Woolley D, Myatt GJ. In Silico Approaches In Carcinogenicity Hazard Assessment: Current Status and Future Needs. COMPUTATIONAL TOXICOLOGY (AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS) 2021; 20. [PMID: 35368437 DOI: 10.1016/j.comtox.2021.100191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Historically, identifying carcinogens has relied primarily on tumor studies in rodents, which require enormous resources in both money and time. In silico models have been developed for predicting rodent carcinogens but have not yet found general regulatory acceptance, in part due to the lack of a generally accepted protocol for performing such an assessment as well as limitations in predictive performance and scope. There remains a need for additional, improved in silico carcinogenicity models, especially ones that are more human-relevant, for use in research and regulatory decision-making. As part of an international effort to develop in silico toxicological protocols, a consortium of toxicologists, computational scientists, and regulatory scientists across several industries and governmental agencies evaluated the extent to which in silico models exist for each of the recently defined 10 key characteristics (KCs) of carcinogens. This position paper summarizes the current status of in silico tools for the assessment of each KC and identifies the data gaps that need to be addressed before a comprehensive in silico carcinogenicity protocol can be developed for regulatory use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raymond R Tice
- RTice Consulting, Hillsborough, North Carolina, 27278, USA
| | | | - Alexander Amberg
- Sanofi Preclinical Safety, Industriepark Höchst, 65926 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Lennart T Anger
- Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, California, 94080, USA
| | - Marc A Beal
- Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Health Canada, Government of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0K9
| | | | | | - Jeffrey Birmingham
- GlaxoSmithKline, David Jack Centre for R&D, Ware, Hertfordshire, SG12 0DP, United Kingdom
| | - Alessandro Brigo
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research & Early Development, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Roche Innovation, Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, CH-4070, Basel, Switzerland
| | | | - Lidia Ceriani
- Humane Society International, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Ian Crooks
- British American Tobacco (Investments) Ltd, GR&D Centre, Southampton, SO15 8TL, United Kingdom
| | | | - Rosalie Elespuru
- Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Silver Spring, Maryland, 20993, USA
| | - David M Faulkner
- Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Marie C Fortin
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, 08855, USA
| | - Paul Fowler
- FSTox Consulting (Genetic Toxicology), Northamptonshire, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - Gloria D Jahnke
- Division of the National Toxicology Program, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27709, USA
| | | | - Naomi L Kruhlak
- Food and Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, 20993, USA
| | - Elena Lo Piparo
- Chemical Food Safety Group, Nestlé Research, CH-1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland
| | - Juan Lopez-Belmonte
- Cuts Ice Ltd Chemical Food Safety Group, Nestlé Research, CH-1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland
| | - Amarjit Luniwal
- North American Science Associates (NAMSA) Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55426, USA
| | - Alice Luu
- Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Health Canada, Government of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0K9
| | - Federica Madia
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy
| | - Serena Manganelli
- Chemical Food Safety Group, Nestlé Research, CH-1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland
| | | | - Jordi Mestres
- IMIM Institut Hospital Del Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques and Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Doctor Aiguader 88, Parc de Recerca Biomèdica, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; and Chemotargets SL, Baldiri Reixac 4, Parc Científic de Barcelona, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Louise Neilson
- Broughton Nicotine Services, Oak Tree House, Earby, Lancashire, BB18 6JZ United Kingdom
| | - Arun Pandiri
- Division of the National Toxicology Program, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27709, USA
| | | | - Cynthia V Rider
- Division of the National Toxicology Program, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27709, USA
| | - John P Rooney
- Integrated Laboratory Systems, LLC., Morrisville, North Carolina, 27560, USA
| | | | - Karen H Watanabe-Sailor
- School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Arizona State University, West Campus, Glendale, Arizona, 85306, USA
| | - Angela T White
- GlaxoSmithKline, David Jack Centre for R&D, Ware, Hertfordshire, SG12 0DP, United Kingdom
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More S, Benford D, Hougaard Bennekou S, Bampidis V, Bragard C, Halldorsson T, Hernandez‐Jerez A, Koutsoumanis K, Lambré C, Machera K, Mullins E, Nielsen SS, Schlatter J, Schrenk D, Turck D, Tarazona J, Younes M. Opinion on the impact of non-monotonic dose responses on EFSA's human health risk assessments. EFSA J 2021; 19:e06877. [PMID: 34712366 PMCID: PMC8528485 DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2021.6877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
This Opinion assesses the biological relevance of the non-monotonic dose responses (NMDR) identified in a previous EFSA External Report (Beausoleil et al., 2016) produced under GP/EFSA/SCER/2014/01 and the follow-up probabilistic assessment (Chevillotte et al., 2017a,b), focusing on the in vivo data sets fulfilling most of the checkpoints of the visual/statistical-based analysis identified in Beausoleil et al. (2016). The evaluation was completed with cases discussed in EFSA assessments and the update of the scientific literature. Observations of NMDR were confirmed in certain studies and are particularly relevant for receptor-mediated effects. Based on the results of the evaluation, the Opinion proposes an approach to be applied during the risk assessment process when apparent non-monotonicity is observed, also providing advice on specific elements to be considered to facilitate the assessment of NMDR in EFSA risk assessments. The proposed approach was applied to two case studies, Bisphenol A and bis(2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and these evaluations are reported in dedicated annexes. Considering the potential impact of NMDRs in regulatory risk assessment, the Scientific Committee recommends a concerted international effort on developing internationally agreed guidance and harmonised frameworks for identifying and addressing NMDRs in the risk assessment process.
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46
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Amorim MJB, Gansemans Y, Gomes SIL, Van Nieuwerburgh F, Scott-Fordsmand JJ. Annelid genomes: Enchytraeus crypticus, a soil model for the innate (and primed) immune system. Lab Anim (NY) 2021; 50:285-294. [PMID: 34489599 PMCID: PMC8460440 DOI: 10.1038/s41684-021-00831-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Enchytraeids (Annelida) are soil invertebrates with worldwide distribution that have served as ecotoxicology models for over 20 years. We present the first high-quality reference genome of Enchytraeus crypticus, assembled from a combination of Pacific Bioscience single-molecule real-time and Illumina sequencing platforms as a 525.2 Mbp genome (910 gapless scaffolds and 18,452 genes). We highlight isopenicillin, acquired by horizontal gene transfer and conferring antibiotic function. Significant gene family expansions associated with regeneration (long interspersed nuclear elements), the innate immune system (tripartite motif-containing protein) and response to stress (cytochrome P450) were identified. The ACE (Angiotensin-converting enzyme) - a homolog of ACE2, which is involved in the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 cell entry - is also present in E. crypticus. There is an obvious potential of using E. crypticus as a model to study interactions between regeneration, the innate immune system and aging-dependent decline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mónica J B Amorim
- Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.
| | - Yannick Gansemans
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Susana I L Gomes
- Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Filip Van Nieuwerburgh
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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47
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Schneider MR, Oelgeschlaeger M, Burgdorf T, van Meer P, Theunissen P, Kienhuis AS, Piersma AH, Vandebriel RJ. Applicability of organ-on-chip systems in toxicology and pharmacology. Crit Rev Toxicol 2021; 51:540-554. [PMID: 34463591 DOI: 10.1080/10408444.2021.1953439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Organ-on-chip (OoC) systems are microfabricated cell culture devices designed to model functional units of human organs by harboring an in vitro generated organ surrogate. In the present study, we reviewed issues and opportunities related to the application of OoC in the safety and efficacy assessment of chemicals and pharmaceuticals, as well as the steps needed to achieve this goal. The relative complexity of OoC over simple in vitro assays provides advantages and disadvantages in the context of compound testing. The broader biological domain of OoC potentially enhances their predictive value, whereas their complexity present issues with throughput, standardization and transferability. Using OoCs for regulatory purposes requires detailed and standardized protocols, providing reproducible results in an interlaboratory setting. The extent to which interlaboratory standardization of OoC is feasible and necessary for regulatory application is a matter of debate. The focus of applying OoCs in safety assessment is currently directed to characterization (the biology represented in the test) and qualification (the performance of the test). To this aim, OoCs are evaluated on a limited scale, especially in the pharmaceutical industry, with restricted sets of reference substances. Given the low throughput of OoC, it is questionable whether formal validation, in which many reference substances are extensively tested in different laboratories, is feasible for OoCs. Rather, initiatives such as open technology platforms, and collaboration between OoC developers and risk assessors may prove an expedient strategy to build confidence in OoCs for application in safety and efficacy assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlon R Schneider
- German Centre for the Protection of Laboratory Animals (Bf3R), German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Berlin, Germany
| | - Michael Oelgeschlaeger
- German Centre for the Protection of Laboratory Animals (Bf3R), German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Berlin, Germany
| | - Tanja Burgdorf
- German Centre for the Protection of Laboratory Animals (Bf3R), German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Berlin, Germany
| | - Peter van Meer
- Section on Pharmacology, Toxicology and Kinetics, Medicines Evaluation Board, Utrecht, The Netherlands.,Department of Pharmaceutics, Utrecht Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Peter Theunissen
- Section on Pharmacology, Toxicology and Kinetics, Medicines Evaluation Board, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Anne S Kienhuis
- Laboratory for Health Protection, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | - Aldert H Piersma
- Laboratory for Health Protection, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | - Rob J Vandebriel
- Laboratory for Health Protection, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands
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48
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Arnesdotter E, Spinu N, Firman J, Ebbrell D, Cronin MTD, Vanhaecke T, Vinken M. Derivation, characterisation and analysis of an adverse outcome pathway network for human hepatotoxicity. Toxicology 2021; 459:152856. [PMID: 34252478 DOI: 10.1016/j.tox.2021.152856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Revised: 06/17/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Adverse outcome pathways (AOPs) and their networks are important tools for the development of mechanistically based non-animal testing approaches, such as in vitro and/or in silico assays, to assess toxicity induced by chemicals. In the present study, an AOP network connecting 14 linear AOPs related to human hepatotoxicity, currently available in the AOP-Wiki, was derived according to established criteria. The derived AOP network was characterised and analysed with regard to its structure and topological features. In-depth analysis of the AOP network showed that cell injury/death, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and accumulation of fatty acids are the most highly connected and central key events. Consequently, these key events may be considered as the rational and mechanistically anchored basis for selecting, developing and/optimising in vitro and/or in silico assays to predict hepatotoxicity induced by chemicals in view of animal-free hazard identification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Arnesdotter
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090, Jette, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Nicoleta Spinu
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L3 3AF, UK.
| | - James Firman
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L3 3AF, UK.
| | - David Ebbrell
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L3 3AF, UK.
| | - Mark T D Cronin
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L3 3AF, UK.
| | - Tamara Vanhaecke
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090, Jette, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Mathieu Vinken
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090, Jette, Brussels, Belgium.
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Szocinski T, Nguyen DD, Wei GW. AweGNN: Auto-parametrized weighted element-specific graph neural networks for molecules. Comput Biol Med 2021; 134:104460. [PMID: 34020133 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2021.104460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2021] [Revised: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
While automated feature extraction has had tremendous success in many deep learning algorithms for image analysis and natural language processing, it does not work well for data involving complex internal structures, such as molecules. Data representations via advanced mathematics, including algebraic topology, differential geometry, and graph theory, have demonstrated superiority in a variety of biomolecular applications, however, their performance is often dependent on manual parametrization. This work introduces the auto-parametrized weighted element-specific graph neural network, dubbed AweGNN, to overcome the obstacle of this tedious parametrization process while also being a suitable technique for automated feature extraction on these internally complex biomolecular data sets. The AweGNN is a neural network model based on geometric-graph features of element-pair interactions, with its graph parameters being updated throughout the training, which results in what we call a network-enabled automatic representation (NEAR). To enhance the predictions with small data sets, we construct multi-task (MT) AweGNN models in addition to single-task (ST) AweGNN models. The proposed methods are applied to various benchmark data sets, including four data sets for quantitative toxicity analysis and another data set for solvation prediction. Extensive numerical tests show that AweGNN models can achieve state-of-the-art performance in molecular property predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy Szocinski
- Department of Mathematics, Michigan State University, MI, 48824, USA
| | - Duc Duy Nguyen
- Department of Mathematics, University of Kentucky, KY, 40506, USA
| | - Guo-Wei Wei
- Department of Mathematics, Michigan State University, MI, 48824, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, MI, 48824, USA; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michigan State University, MI, 48824, USA.
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50
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Halappanavar S, Ede JD, Mahapatra I, Krug HF, Kuempel ED, Lynch I, Vandebriel RJ, Shatkin JA. A methodology for developing key events to advance nanomaterial-relevant adverse outcome pathways to inform risk assessment. Nanotoxicology 2020; 15:289-310. [PMID: 33317378 DOI: 10.1080/17435390.2020.1851419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Significant advances have been made in the development of Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs) over the last decade, mainly focused on the toxicity mechanisms of chemicals. These AOPs, although relevant to manufactured nanomaterials (MNs), do not currently capture the reported roles of size-associated properties of MNs on toxicity. Moreover, some AOs of relevance to airborne exposures to MNs such as lung inflammation and fibrosis shown in animal studies may not be targeted in routine regulatory decision making. The primary objective of the present study was to establish an approach to advance the development of AOPs of relevance to MNs using existing, publicly available, nanotoxicology literature. A systematic methodology was created for curating, organizing and applying the available literature for identifying key events (KEs). Using a case study approach, the study applied the available literature to build the biological plausibility for 'tissue injury', a KE of regulatory relevance to MNs. The results of the analysis reveal the various endpoints, assays and specific biological markers used for assessing and reporting tissue injury. The study elaborates on the limitations and opportunities of the current nanotoxicology literature and provides recommendations for the future reporting of nanotoxicology results that will expedite not only the development of AOPs for MNs but also aid in application of existing data for decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabina Halappanavar
- Environmental Health Science and Research Bureau, Health Canada, Ottawa, Canada
| | | | - Indrani Mahapatra
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Harald F Krug
- Retired International Research Cooperation Manager, Empa - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Science and Materials Technology, St. Gallen, Switzerland.,NanoCASE GmbH, Engelburg, Switzerland
| | - Eileen D Kuempel
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Nanotechnology Research Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Iseult Lynch
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Rob J Vandebriel
- National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, Netherlands
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