Detection of xenobiotic-induced DNA damage by the comet assay applied to human and rat precision-cut liver slices

HeLa TI cell-based assay as a new approach to screen for chemicals able to reactivate the expression of epigenetically silenced genes

Chemicals reactivating epigenetically silenced genes target diverse classes of enzymes, including DNMTs, HDACs, HMTs and BET protein family members. They can strongly influence the expression of genes and endogenous retroviral elements with concomitant dsRNA synthesis and massive transcription of LTRs. Chemicals reactivating gene expression may cause both beneficial effects in cancer cells and may be hazardous by promoting carcinogenesis. Among chemicals used in medicine and commerce, only a small fraction has been studied with respect to their influence on epigenetic silencing. Screening of chemicals reactivating silent genes requires adequate systems mimicking whole-genome processes. We used a HeLa TSA-inducible cell population (HeLa TI cells) obtained by retroviral infection of a GFP-containing vector followed by several rounds of cell sorting for screening purposes. Previously, the details of GFP epigenetic silencing in HeLa TI cells were thoroughly described. Herein, we show that the epigenetically repressed gene GFP is reactivated by 15 agents, including HDAC inhibitors–vorinostat, sodium butyrate, valproic acid, depsipeptide, pomiferin, and entinostat; DNMT inhibitors–decitabine, 5-azacytidine, RG108; HMT inhibitors–UNC0638, BIX01294, DZNep; a chromatin remodeler–curaxin CBL0137; and BET inhibitors–JQ-1 and JQ-35. We demonstrate that combinations of epigenetic modulators caused a significant increase in cell number with reactivated GFP compared to the individual effects of each agent. HeLa TI cells are competent to metabolize xenobiotics and possess constitutively expressed and inducible cytochrome P450 mono-oxygenases involved in xenobiotic biotransformation. Thus, HeLa TI cells may be used as an adequate test system for the extensive screening of chemicals, including those that must be metabolically activated. Studying the additional metabolic activation of xenobiotics, we surprisingly found that the rat liver S9 fraction, which has been widely used for xenobiotic activation in genotoxicity tests, reactivated epigenetically silenced genes. Applying the HeLa TI system, we show that N-nitrosodiphenylamine and N-nitrosodimethylamine reactivate epigenetically silenced genes, probably by affecting DNA methylation.

Protective effects of phenolic acids on mercury-induced DNA damage in precision-cut kidney slices

Objective(s):

Precision-cut tissue slices are considered an organotypic 3D model widely used in biomedical research. The comet assay is an important screening test for early genotoxicity risk assessment that is mainly applied on in vitro models. The aim of the present study was to provide a 3D organ system for determination of genotoxicity using a modified method of the comet assay since the stromal components from the original tissue make this technique complicated.

Materials and Methods:

A modified comet assay technique was validated using precision-cut hamster kidney slices to analyze the antigenotoxic effect of the phenolic compounds caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, and rosmarinic acid in tissue slices incubated with 15 µM HgCl₂. Cytotoxicity of the phenolic compounds was studied in Vero cells, and by morphologic analysis in tissue slices co-incubated with HgCl₂ and phenolic compounds.

Results:

A modification of the comet assay allows obtaining better and clear comet profiles for analysis. Non-cytotoxic concentrations of phenolic acids protected kidney tissue slices against mercury-induced DNA damage, and at the same time, were not nephrotoxic. The highest protection was provided by 3 µg/ml caffeic acid, although 6 µg/ml rosmarinic and 9 µg/ml chlorogenic acids also exhibited protective effects.

Conclusion:

This is the first time that a modification of the comet assay technique is reported as a tool to visualize the comets from kidney tissue slices in a clear and simple way. The phenolic compounds tested in this study provided protection against mercury-induced genotoxic damage in precision-cut kidney slices.

Vitamin C acts as a hepatoprotectant in carbofuran treated rat liver slices in vitro

The observations of liver slices when treated with different concentrations of carbofuran were as follows:-

1.

increased LPO

2.

decreased SOD, CAT, & protein content in all the treatments

The observations of liver slices when treated with different concentrations of carbofuran along with vitamin C were as follows:-

1.

the levels of LPO, SOD, CAT & total protein content reinstated towards normal level only in liver slices treated with low concentration

2.

at higher concentration of carbofuran treatment Vitamin C does not ameliorate the hepatic toxicity induced by carbofuran

The in vitro liver slice culture may prove to be a useful model for hepatotoxicological studies and Vitamin C, as a hepatoprotectant in mammalian system.

Carbamates, most commonly used pesticides in agricultural practices, have been reported to produce free radicals causing deleterious effects in animals. The present study was designed to assess the carbofuran induced oxidative stress in rat liver slices in vitro and also to evaluate protective role of vitamin C by incubating them in Krebs-Ringer HEPES Buffer (KRHB) containing incubation media (Williams medium E (WME) supplemented with glucose and antibiotics) with different concentrations of carbofuran. The results demonstrated that carbofuran caused significant increase in lipid peroxidation and inhibition in the activity of hepatic superoxide dismutase (SOD) in concentration dependent manner. The data with incubation medium reflected that carbofuran at lowest concentration caused an increase in SOD activity followed by its inhibition at higher concentration. Carbofuran treatment caused inhibition in the activity of catalase in liver slices and WME incubation medium. Pre-incubation of liver slices and the WME media with vitamin C restored the values of biochemical indices tested. The results indicated that carbofuran might induce oxidative stress in hepatocytes. The pretreatment with vitamin C may offer hepatoprotection from toxicity of pesticide at low concentration only.

Comparison of toxicogenomics and traditional approaches to inform mode of action and points of departure in human health risk assessment of benzo[a]pyrene in drinking water

Toxicogenomics is proposed to be a useful tool in human health risk assessment. However, a systematic comparison of traditional risk assessment approaches with those applying toxicogenomics has never been done. We conducted a case study to evaluate the utility of toxicogenomics in the risk assessment of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), a well-studied carcinogen, for drinking water exposures. Our study was intended to compare methodologies, not to evaluate drinking water safety. We compared traditional (RA1), genomics-informed (RA2) and genomics-only (RA3) approaches. RA2 and RA3 applied toxicogenomics data from human cell cultures and mice exposed to BaP to determine if these data could provide insight into BaP's mode of action (MOA) and derive tissue-specific points of departure (POD). Our global gene expression analysis supported that BaP is genotoxic in mice and allowed the development of a detailed MOA. Toxicogenomics analysis in human lymphoblastoid TK6 cells demonstrated a high degree of consistency in perturbed pathways with animal tissues. Quantitatively, the PODs for traditional and transcriptional approaches were similar (liver 1.2 vs. 1.0 mg/kg-bw/day; lungs 0.8 vs. 3.7 mg/kg-bw/day; forestomach 0.5 vs. 7.4 mg/kg-bw/day). RA3, which applied toxicogenomics in the absence of apical toxicology data, demonstrates that this approach provides useful information in data-poor situations. Overall, our study supports the use of toxicogenomics as a relatively fast and cost-effective tool for hazard identification, preliminary evaluation of potential carcinogens, and carcinogenic potency, in addition to identifying current limitations and practical questions for future work.

Advances in the development and use of human tissue-based techniques for drug toxicity testing

INTRODUCTION

Unacceptable failure rates in clinical trials are largely responsible for the high costs of bringing successful drugs to market - costs that are passed on to patients, insurers or healthcare providers. Furthermore, failures in clinical trials deny patients much-needed new drugs and potentially expose them to unnecessary risk. With so many medicines reaching their patent expiry date, pressure is on the pharmaceutical industry to not only increase its output of effective medicines but also improve its ability to minimise safety issues.

AREAS COVERED

This review focuses on the availability and use of human tissues and their derivatives to explore potential toxicity problems of new drugs. The growth in the number and quality of human material-based assays and enabling technologies is reviewed, followed by a discussion of the application of such assays to identify specific toxicities, using specific examples.

EXPERT OPINION

Although human tissues are now beginning to be seen as playing an important role in evaluating the potential for toxicity of new drugs in the clinic, their importance deserves to be more widely recognised and their use in the identification of toxicity issues as early as possible in the drug development life cycle should be significantly increased.

Determination of genotoxicity by the Comet assay applied to murine precision-cut lung slices

Precision-cut lung slices (PCLSs) are an organotypic lung model that is widely used in pharmacological, physiological, and toxicological studies. Genotoxicity testing, as a pivotal part of early risk assessment, is currently established in vivo in various organs including lung, brain, or liver, and in vitro in cell lines or primary cells. The aim of the present study was to provide the three-dimensional organ culture PCLS as a new ex vivo model for determination of genotoxicity using the Comet assay. Murine PCLS were exposed to increasing concentrations of ethyl methane sulfonate 'EMS' (0.03-0.4%) and formalin (0.5-5mM). Tissue was subsequently dissociated, and DNA single-strand breaks were quantified using the Comet assay. Number of viable dissociated lung cells was between 4×10(5) and 6.7×10(5)cells/slice. Even treatment with EMS did not induce toxicity compared to untreated tissue control. As expected, DNA single-strand breaks were increased dose-dependently and significantly after exposure to EMS. Here, tail length rose from 24μm to 75μm. In contrast, formalin resulted in a significant induction of DNA cross-links. The effects induced by EMS and formalin demonstrate the usefulness of PCLS as a new ex vivo lung model for genotoxicity testing in the early risk assessment of airborne substances in the future.

Use of the γH2AX assay for assessing the genotoxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in human cell lines

The development of in vitro genotoxic assays as an alternative method to animal experimentation is of growing interest in the context of the implementation of new regulations on chemicals. However, extrapolation of toxicity data from in vitro systems to in vivo models is hampered by the fact that in vitro systems vary in their capability to metabolize chemicals, and that biotransformation can greatly influence the experimental results. Therefore, much attention has to be paid to the cellular models used and experimental conditions. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are carcinogenic ubiquitous pollutants. Human exposure to PAHs is mainly from food origin. In this study, a detailed analysis of the biotransformation capabilities of three human cell lines commonly used for in vitro testing (HepG2, ACHN and Caco-2) was undertaken using 3 model PAHs (benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P], fluoranthene [FLA] and 3-methylcholanthrene [3-MC]). Concomitantly the genotoxicity of these PAHs was investigated in different cell lines, using a new genotoxic assay (H2AX) in 96-well plates. The metabolic rates of B(a)P, FLA and 3-MC were similar in HepG2 and Caco-2 cell lines, respectively, though with the production of different metabolites. The ACHN cell line was shown to express very limited metabolic capabilities. We demonstrated that the PAHs having a high metabolic rate (B(a)P and 3-MC) were genotoxic from 10(-7) molar in both HepG2 and Caco-2 cells. The present study shows that H2AX measurement in human cell lines competent for the metabolism, is an efficient and sensitive genotoxic assay requiring less cells and time than other currently available tests.

Preparation and incubation of precision-cut liver and intestinal slices for application in drug metabolism and toxicity studies

Precision-cut tissue slices (PCTS) are viable ex vivo explants of tissue with a reproducible, well defined thickness. They represent a mini-model of the organ under study and contain all cells of the tissue in their natural environment, leaving intercellular and cell-matrix interactions intact, and are therefore highly appropriate for studying multicellular processes. PCTS are mainly used to study the metabolism and toxicity of xenobiotics, but they are suitable for many other purposes. Here we describe the protocols to prepare and incubate rat and human liver and intestinal slices. Slices are prepared from fresh liver by making a cylindrical core using a drill with a hollow bit, from which slices are cut with a specially designed tissue slicer. Intestinal tissue is embedded in cylinders of agarose before slicing. Slices remain viable for 24 h (intestine) and up to 96 h (liver) when incubated in 6- or 12-well plates under 95% O(2)/5% CO(2) atmosphere.

Precision-cut hamster liver slices as an ex vivo model to study amoebic liver abscess

Entamoeba histolytica is the etiological agent of amoebiasis, the second cause of global morbidity and mortality due to parasitic diseases in humans. In approximately 1% of the cases, amoebas penetrate the intestinal mucosa and spread to other organs, producing extra-intestinal lesions, among which amoebic liver abscess (ALA) is the most common. To study ALA, in vivo and in vitro models are used. However, animal models may pose ethical issues, and are time-consuming and costly; and cell cultures represent isolated cellular lineages. The present study reports the infection of precision-cut hamster liver slices with Entamoeba histolytica trophozoites. The infection time-course, including tissue damage, parallels findings previously reported in the animal model. At the same time amoebic virulence factors were detected in the infected slices. This new model to study ALA is simple and reproducible, and employs less than 1/3 of the hamsters required for in vivo analyses.

Effect of rapeseed peptide on DNA damage and apoptosis in Hela cells

Rapeseed peptide (RSP), obtained by hydrolyzing rapeseed protein, has anticancer activity. In this study, the effects of RSP on proliferation rate, morphological changes, DNA damage, cell cycle distribution and apoptosis in human cervical carcinoma (Hela) cells were investigated. RSP treatment at a concentration of 640 mg/L for 4 days inhibited Hela cell proliferation significantly, as determined by the MTT assay. We observed a dose-dependent increase in cytotoxicity induced by RSP at 20-640 mg/L. After 4 days of 320 mg/L RSP treatment, typical apoptotic changes were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Using the comet assay, we found dramatic comet tails, indicating DNA damage by RSP (20-640 mg/L). Moreover, RSP treatment caused inhibition of Hela cell growth, with cycle arrest in the S phase and apoptosis induction. Taken together, the results suggested that rapeseed peptide could be a potential antitumor compound with an apoptotic mode of action.

Genotoxic effects of p,p'-DDT (1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis-(chlorophenyl)ethane) and its metabolites in Zebra mussel (D. polymorpha) by SCGE assay and micronucleus test

This is the first study to evaluate the potential genotoxicity of p,p'-DDT (1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis-(chlorophenyl)ethane) and its metabolites (p,p'-DDD and p,p'-DDE) in the sentinel mollusc Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha). DNA damage was measured using the single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) assay and the micronucleus test (MN test), which represent two of the more sensitive biomarkers for genotoxicity evaluation. Three different concentrations (0.1, 2, and 10 mug/L) of each compound were administered in water for 168 hr, maintaining mussels at constant laboratory conditions and collecting several specimens every 48 hr for biochemical analyses. At the same time, the bioaccumulation process and the concentration/effect relationship were checked by GC-MS/MS analyses of mussel soft tissues. The SCGE assay results showed a clear and significant (P < 0.05) relationship between DNA injuries and tested doses for all the homologues throughout the 7-day exposure period. The final DNA damage due to p,p'-DDE was almost double that of the other two homologues that showed the same toxicity pattern. The micronucleus frequency analysis confirmed the genotoxicity potential of the three homologues and p,p'-DDE showed the highest irreversible DNA damage. The capability of Zebra mussels to biotransform the administered compound in the other homologues was demonstrated by multiple regression analyses carried out between the MN frequencies and the concentrations of the different homologues in the mussel soft tissues. A greater genotoxic potential of the p,p'-DDE with respect to the other two chemicals was revealed.

Antigenotoxic effect of Xanthohumol in rat liver slices

Xanthohumol (XN), the principal prenylated flavonoid in the hop plant, Humulus lupulus L., is suggested to have cancer chemo-preventive activities. Its mechanisms of protection have been proposed to be inhibition of metabolic activation, induction of detoxifying enzymes and antioxidant activity. Our previous study showed that XN efficiently protected human hepatoma HepG2 cells against the genotoxic effects of two pro-carcinogens (2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP)) that are dependent on cytochrome P450 (CYP) mediated metabolic activation, and against genotoxic effects of the oxidative damage inducing tert-butyl hydroperoxide (tBOOH). In the present study, we investigated the antigenotoxic effects of XN in precision-cut rat liver slices. Using the comet assay, we detected that at non-cytotoxic concentrations (0.01-10 microM) XN completely prevented IQ and BaP-induced DNA damage. The protective effects of XN against tBOOH-induced DNA damage was less efficient; the maximal 50% reduction of DNA damage was observed at 0.1 microM XN. In rat microsomes, XN (0.001-10 microM) inhibited CYP1A activity (7-ethoxycoumarin (7EC) de-ethylation) in a concentration-dependent manner. Surprisingly, no inhibition of 7EC metabolism by XN was observed in rat liver slices. XN also did not have any influence on mRNA expression of the enzymes CYP1A2 and quinone reductase (QR). These results indicate that inhibition of metabolic activation of pro-carcinogens by CYP1A is not likely to be the mechanism of its antigenotoxic action. In conclusion, XN efficiently protects DNA against genotoxicity of IQ and BaP and against oxidative DNA damage. Although the mechanism of the protective effect of XN is unclear, our results indicate that XN exhibits antigenotoxic effects in fresh liver tissue and provide additional evidence for the cancer preventive potential of XN.