DNA and protein contents of hepatocytes in primary cultures monitored by flow cytometry: Effect of phenobarbital and dimethylsulphoxide

ECITTS: An Integrated Approach to the Application of In Vitro Test Systems to the Hazard Assessment of Chemicals,

As a result of a workshop held at Täljöviken, Åkersberga, Sweden, on 27–29 May 1991, a multicentre collaborative research project was established, with the purpose of developing the concept of integrated in vitro toxicity testing. The first priority was the selection of tests within eight appropriate areas: basal cytotoxicity, irritancy, developmental toxicity, hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity and biokinetics. An ideal battery of tests for each area was identified. Since it was realised that it would not be feasible to include the full ideal list of tests in the project, a minimum test list was also agreed. For each area, ten calibration chemicals were selected. From these 80 compounds, 30 were selected for inclusion, together with 20 of the OECD test programme chemicals, in a first test set of chemicals. The toxicity of these 50 test set chemicals will be investigated in the minimum integrated test scheme.

The aim of the project is to employ non-animal methods to assess the toxicological properties of chemicals, and to improve this assessment through the use of knowledge about mechanisms of toxic action. The information produced will contribute to the establishment of a more-scientific and more-efficient toxicological procedure for hazard assessment. Questions concerning which parameters need to be investigated and combined to make hazard assessments, and which parameters relevant to in vivo toxicity can be determined in non-whole animal test systems, will also be addressed.

Principles of Screening in Toxicology with Special Emphasis on Applications to Neurotoxicology

It is not generally recognized that the major activity or function of classic descriptive toxicology is the use of screening tests for detecting the presence or absence of an effect, Generally, such screens have been directed at the detection of a single end point of effect, such as lethality, mutagenicity, or neurobehavioral effects. Such screens have a common set of operating characteristics that are not widely appreciated and that make traditional approaches to statistical analysis insensitive and inefficient in comparison to other available methods. Also, all too often control and historical data are not incorporated to strengthen either the design or analysis processes. Just as often overlooked is the intended objective or function of a screen, which acts as the biologic equivalent of a form of exploratory data analysis (EDA). As such, screens act to identify areas-compounds (i.e., explore or discover responses) that then either require further research (to confirm the existence of an effect and evaluate the relevance of any hazard to humans) or pass a compound on as representing low probability of a hazard. This fundamental discovery function forces screens to be designed to be very sensitive and, in so doing, requires that positive findings be understood to be flags that say “Look here” (and not that a material is, for example, a neurotoxicant). Discrimination, in other words, though important, is secondary. In this article, the characteristics and uses of screens in toxicology are presented and reviewed, along with overviews of the types and philosophy of screening operations. The relevance of these factors to the special case of neurotoxicology is pointed out, with specific examples and implications.

Primary hepatocytes and their cultures in liver apoptosis research

Apoptosis not only plays a key role in physiological demise of defunct hepatocytes, but is also associated with a plethora of acute and chronic liver diseases as well as with hepatotoxicity. The present paper focuses on the modelling of this mode of programmed cell death in primary hepatocyte cultures. Particular attention is paid to the activation of spontaneous apoptosis during the isolation of hepatocytes from the liver, its progressive manifestation upon the subsequent establishment of cell cultures and simultaneously to strategies to counteract this deleterious process. In addition, currently applied approaches to experimentally induce controlled apoptosis in this in vitro setting for mechanistic research purposes and thereby its detection using relevant biomarkers are reviewed.

Integrated Decision-tree Testing Strategies for Acute Systemic Toxicity and Toxicokinetics with Respect to the Requirements of the EU REACH Legislation

Liverpool John Moores University and FRAME conducted a joint research project, sponsored by Defra, on the status of alternatives to animal testing with regard to the European Union REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) system for the safety testing and risk assessment of chemicals. The project covered all the main toxicity endpoints associated with REACH. This paper focuses on the use of alternative (non-animal) methods (both in vitro and in silico) for acute systemic toxicity and toxicokinetic testing. The paper reviews in vitro tests based on basal cytotoxicity and target organ toxicity, along with QSAR models and expert systems available for this endpoint. The use of PBPK modelling for the prediction of ADME properties is also discussed. These tests are then incorporated into a decision-tree style, integrated testing strategy, which also includes the use of refined in vivo acute toxicity tests, as a last resort. The implementation of the strategy is intended to minimise the use of animals in the testing of acute systemic toxicity and toxicokinetics, whilst satisfying the scientific and logistical demands of the EU REACH legislation.

Integrated decision-tree testing strategies for acute systemic toxicity and toxicokinetics with respect to the requirements of the EU REACH legislation

Liverpool John Moores University and FRAME conducted a joint research project, sponsored by Defra, on the status of alternatives to animal testing with regard to the European Union REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) system for the safety testing and risk assessment of chemicals. The project covered all the main toxicity endpoints associated with REACH. This paper focuses on the use of alternative (non-animal) methods (both in vitro and in silico) for acute systemic toxicity and toxicokinetic testing. The paper reviews in vitro tests based on basal cytotoxicity and target organ toxicity, along with QSAR models and expert systems available for this endpoint. The use of PBPK modelling for the prediction of ADME properties is also discussed. These tests are then incorporated into a decision-tree style, integrated testing strategy, which also includes the use of refined in vivo acute toxicity tests, as a last resort. The implementation of the strategy is intended to minimise the use of animals in the testing of acute systemic toxicity and toxicokinetics, whilst satisfying the scientific and logistical demands of the EU REACH legislation.

A fast kinetic method for assessing mitochondrial membrane potential in isolated hepatocytes with rhodamine 123 and flow cytometry

Rhodamine 123 (Rh123) is widely used as a flow cytometric probe for mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in metabolic, pharmacologic, and toxicological studies. However, the use of relatively high concentrations of Rh123 (up to 10 micrograms/ml) and prolonged incubation times (up to 1 h), including washing steps, may be inconvenient for certain applications in which labile cells are used or which demand rapid or repeated analysis. In this paper we describe a rapid kinetic assay of MMP in isolated rat hepatocytes, based upon the quantitation of the initial rate of Rh123 uptake by living cells, selected by their scattering properties. The results indicate that at an appropriate dye-to-cell ratio (in our experiments, 50 ng Rh123/ml for 250,000-300,000 cells/ml), the initial rate of Rh123 uptake is a highly reproducible and sensitive parameter for estimation of MMP, as demonstrated by the effects of substrates and inhibitors of the glycolytic pathway and mitochondrial respiration. Because of its simplicity, rapidity (about 5 min) and metabolic implications, this assay would be also suitable for the routine evaluation of metabolic state of cell suspensions, as a complementary test to the standard dual-staining tests of viability. Other possible applications in screening pharmacologic and toxicological analysis are discussed.

Physiological oxygen tension modulates the chemically induced mitogenic response of cultured rat hepatocytes

Freshly isolated rat hepatocytes were cultured at periportal- (13% O2) or perivenous-like (4% O2) oxygen tension and exposed to subtoxic exposure levels of cyproterone acetate (CPA: 10-330 microM), phenobarbital (PB: 0.75-6 mM), and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO: 0.1-3.3%) from 24-72 h after seeding. Induced alterations in ploidy, in the number of S-phase cells, the degree of binuclearity, and cellular protein content were determined by twin parameter protein/DNA flow cytometry analysis of intact cells and isolated nuclei. CPA and PB increased whereas DMSO decreased dose dependently the total number of S-phase cells. The changes differed within individual ploidy classes and were modulated by the oxygen tension. CPA increased and DMSO decreased the number of S-phase cells preferentially among the diploid hepatocytes at periportal-like oxygen tension. In contrast, PB increased binuclearity and S-phase cells mainly among the tetraploid hepatocytes at perivenous-like oxygen tension. Cellular protein content increased dose dependently after exposure to the hepatomitogens (CPA, PB) and decreased after exposure to DMSO at both oxygen tensions. Comparison with in vitro data proves that chemicals which interact with cells from the progenitor liver compartment (CPA, DMSO) exert their mitogenic activity best in cultures at periportal-like oxygen tension preferentially in diploid hepatocytes, whereas chemicals which affect cells from the functional compartment show a higher activity at perivenous-like oxygen tension. Physiological oxygen tension seems to be an effective modulator of the proliferative response of cultured rat hepatocytes similar to that expected for periportally or perivenously derived hepatocytes.

Single cell analysis in toxicity testing: the mitogenic activity of thioacetamide in cultured rat hepatocytes analyzed by DNA/protein flow cytometry

Rat hepatocytes were cultured at 4% O2 and 13% O2 and exposed to the nongenotoxic rodent carcinogen thioacetamide (TA) from 24 to 72 h after isolation at exposure levels between 0.01 and 0.33 mM. Hepatocytes and isolated nuclei were analyzed by DNA-protein flow cytometry. An aggregate correction procedure was applied and the proportion of S-phase, diploid, tetraploid or octoploid hepatocytes as well as binucleated cells, were measured or calculated. The proportion of S-phase cells within the diploid hepatocytes increased with increasing concentration of TA up to 3.9-fold, whereas the corresponding increase in S-phase mononucleated tetraploid cells was only 1.8-fold. S-phase binucleate tetraploid cells showed no increase. In the tetraploid hepatocytes, the mitogenic stimuli was detectable only in cultures maintained at 4% O2. The relative contribution of binuclear cells was increased 1.5-fold in the octoploid cells. It is concluded that the mitogenic activity of TA initiates DNA synthesis in diploid hepatocytes in the G1 and in the following G2 cell-cycle phase, omitting karyogenesis. The cellular protein content is not affected which indicates that the mitogenic activity of the chemical is not necessarily associated with an increase in cellular protein content. The results obtained correspond well with data of in vivo studies. The method applied therefore allows the mitogenic activity of nongenotoxic carcinogens to be detected in vitro within 48 h and their mode of action to be elucidated.

Examination of a rodent limb bud micromass assay as a prescreen for developmental toxicity

The mouse limb bud micromass assay is one of many short-term tests proposed as preliminary screens for potential developmental toxicity. Previous efforts to validate this assay have used too few "nonteratogens." The purpose of this study was to examine additional compounds, most of which, based on the literature, were perceived to have low potential for developmental toxicity in vivo. In addition, a method of data analysis was sought that would identify selective developmental toxins in the micromass assay, i.e., those that are effective at dosages not maternally toxic. The concentration of each of 23 compounds that produced a 50% inhibition (IC50) of radiolabeled thymidine (T) and sulfate (S) incorporation was determined and used to calculate a T/S ratio. The T/S ratio may be a useful measure of developmental hazard, since T incorporation measures toxicity toward a general cell function (DNA synthesis) and S incorporation measures mainly toxicity toward a developmentally specific cell activity (chondroitin sulfate synthesis). All compounds tested produced T/S ratios of less than 2.0. Since 22 of these 23 compounds are classified as "nonteratogens" or nonselective developmental toxins in vivo, a low T/S ratio in this in vitro assay system may be capable of discriminating potential for developmental hazard in vivo.

Development of in vitro toxicity tests with cultures of freshly isolated rat hepatocytes

Freshly isolated and cultured hepatocytes were analyzed by two-parameter flow cytometry. The combined analysis of DNA and cellular protein content allowed the contribution of ploidy classes and of subpopulations within a ploidy class to be defined. Analysis of hepatocytes during exposure to dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), phenobarbital (PB), low oxygen tension (4% O2) or fetal calf serum (FCS), provided insight into the dynamic response of individual ploidy classes as a function of culture time. By analogy with the age-dependent ploidy shifts in vivo, hepatocyte-cultures shift towards adult animals during exposure to DMSO and towards young animals when cultured at low pO2 (4% O2). FCS and phenobarbital disturb this constitutive ploidy balance. FCS increased the 2 N cell population, where stem cells probably respond to the proliferative stimuli provided by growth factors in the serum. Phenobarbital affects the liver-specific 4 N hepatocytes, which agrees with effects seen in liver after exposure in vivo. It is suggested that drug-induced pathological alterations in ploidy in hepatocyte cultures could serve as indicators of compounds, such as liver tumor promoters, which interfere with cell differentiation in liver. The heterotypic cell-cell interaction of freshly isolated hepatocytes with isolated, in vitro cultured, rat liver epithelial cells in co-cultures proved to be a valuable concept in toxicity testing: aldrin epoxidase, an enzyme system involved in xenobiotic metabolism, was stabilized for more than two weeks. After exposure to the three chemicals, 2-acetylaminofluoren, procarbazine and cyproterone-acetate, a preferential toxicity for each compound and cell population was established. Thus heterotypic cell cultures can considerably increase the amount of information available from in vitro studies. The final concept, combining monitoring of cellular DNA (ploidy) and protein content in hepatocyte cultures during and after exposure to a given test compound at tissue oxygen tension with the heterotypic cell-cell interaction, would create a more in vivo-like culture system. This would enhance the predictability of hepatocyte cultures and contribute to a more widespread use of the test system and as a result help to reduce the number of whole-animal tests.

Maintenance of periportal and pericentral oxygen tensions in primary rat hepatocyte cultures: influence on cellular DNA and protein content monitored by flow cytometry

Primary hepatocytes were cultured at oxygen tensions similar to those reported to be present in periportal (13% O2) and pericentral (4% O2) regions of the liver lobules. Cellular DNA and protein content of individual hepatocytes were determined simultaneously by two-parameter (DNA/protein) flow cytometry after 1, 4, and 7 days in culture. pO2 tensions monitored on line in conventional plastic culture dishes revealed that the depletion of the pO2 in the culture medium depended on the number of hepatocytes plated. When cultured as monolayer after 4-7 days at periportal (13% O2) and more pronounced at pericentral oxygen concentration (4% O2), up to 90% of the hepatocytes showed degenerated nuclei but normal protein content. By using culture dishes with teflon membrane bottoms the oxygen tension in the culture medium was accurately maintained by the incubator atmosphere. At pericentral oxygen tension the fraction of 2N cells increased by about 20%. That of the 4N cell was not affected, and the contribution of 8N hepatocytes dropped to 70% compared to cultures at periportal oxygen tension. Concomitantly, in the 4% O2 hepatocyte cultures the protein content of the 2N and the 4N cells was better preserved and increased by up to 10%. These results suggest that in vitro at pericentral oxygen conditions (4% O2) ageing of hepatocytes is delayed, regenerating processes are better maintained, and, furthermore, freshly isolated 4N hepatocytes have the potency to adapt their metabolism in vitro to periportal as well as to perivenous oxygen tensions.