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Hill BN, Britton KN, Hunter DL, Olin JK, Lowery M, Hedge JM, Knapp BR, Jarema KA, Rowson Z, Padilla S. Inconsistencies in variable reporting and methods in larval zebrafish behavioral assays. Neurotoxicol Teratol 2023; 96:107163. [PMID: 36758822 PMCID: PMC10337341 DOI: 10.1016/j.ntt.2023.107163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Revised: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
Abstract
New approaches in developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) screening are needed due to the tens of thousands of chemicals requiring hazard assessments. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are an alternative vertebrate model for DNT testing, but without a standardized protocol for larval behavioral assays, comparison of results among laboratories is challenging. To evaluate the congruence of protocols across laboratories, we conducted a literature review of DNT studies focusing on larval zebrafish behavior assays and cataloged experimental design consistencies. Our review focused on 51 unique method variables in publications where chemical exposure occurred in early development and subsequent larval locomotor evaluation focused on assays that included a light/dark photoperiod transition. We initially identified 94 publications, but only 31 exclusively met our inclusion criteria which focused on parameters that are important to an assay employed by our laboratory. No publication reported 100% of the targeted variables; only 51 to 86% of those variables were reported in the reviewed publications, with some aspects of the experimental design consistent among laboratories. However, no protocol was exactly the same for any two publications. Many of these variables had more than one parameter/design reported, highlighting the inconsistencies among methods. Overall, there is not only a strong need for the development of a standardized testing protocol for larval zebrafish locomotor assays, but there is also a need for a standardized protocol for reporting experimental variables in the literature. Here we include an extensive guideline checklist for conducting larval zebrafish developmental behavior assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bridgett N Hill
- ORISE Research Participation Program hosted by EPA, Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Biomolecular and Computational Toxicology Division, Rapid Assay Development Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
| | - Katy N Britton
- ORAU Research Participation Program hosted by EPA, Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Biomolecular and Computational Toxicology Division, Rapid Assay Development Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
| | - Deborah L Hunter
- Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Biomolecular and Computational Toxicology Division, Rapid Assay Development Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
| | - Jeanene K Olin
- Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Biomolecular and Computational Toxicology Division, Rapid Assay Development Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
| | - Morgan Lowery
- Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Biomolecular and Computational Toxicology Division, Rapid Assay Development Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
| | - Joan M Hedge
- Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Biomolecular and Computational Toxicology Division, Advanced Experimental Toxicology Models Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
| | - Bridget R Knapp
- ORISE Research Participation Program hosted by EPA, Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Biomolecular and Computational Toxicology Division, Rapid Assay Development Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
| | - Kimberly A Jarema
- Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Immediate Office, Program Operations Staff, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
| | - Zachary Rowson
- ORISE Research Participation Program hosted by EPA, Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Biomolecular and Computational Toxicology Division, Rapid Assay Development Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
| | - Stephanie Padilla
- Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Biomolecular and Computational Toxicology Division, Rapid Assay Development Branch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA.
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Olker JH, Elonen CM, Pilli A, Anderson A, Kinziger B, Erickson S, Skopinski M, Pomplun A, LaLone CA, Russom CL, Hoff D. The ECOTOXicology Knowledgebase: A Curated Database of Ecologically Relevant Toxicity Tests to Support Environmental Research and Risk Assessment. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY 2022; 41:1520-1539. [PMID: 35262228 PMCID: PMC9408435 DOI: 10.1002/etc.5324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Revised: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
The need for assembled existing and new toxicity data has accelerated as the amount of chemicals introduced into commerce continues to grow and regulatory mandates require safety assessments for a greater number of chemicals. To address this evolving need, the ECOTOXicology Knowledgebase (ECOTOX) was developed starting in the 1980s and is currently the world's largest compilation of curated ecotoxicity data, providing support for assessments of chemical safety and ecological research through systematic and transparent literature review procedures. The recently released version of ECOTOX (Ver 5, www.epa.gov/ecotox) provides single-chemical ecotoxicity data for over 12,000 chemicals and ecological species with over one million test results from over 50,000 references. Presented is an overview of ECOTOX, detailing the literature review and data curation processes within the context of current systematic review practices and discussing how recent updates improve the accessibility and reusability of data to support the assessment, management, and research of environmental chemicals. Relevant and acceptable toxicity results are identified from studies in the scientific literature, with pertinent methodological details and results extracted following well-established controlled vocabularies and newly extracted toxicity data added quarterly to the public website. Release of ECOTOX, Ver 5, included an entirely redesigned user interface with enhanced data queries and retrieval options, visualizations to aid in data exploration, customizable outputs for export and use in external applications, and interoperability with chemical and toxicity databases and tools. This is a reliable source of curated ecological toxicity data for chemical assessments and research and continues to evolve with accessible and transparent state-of-the-art practices in literature data curation and increased interoperability to other relevant resources. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:1520-1539. © 2022 SETAC. 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)
- Jennifer H. Olker
- US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division, 6201 Congdon Blvd., Duluth, MN 55804, USA
- Corresponding author: USEPA, 6201 Congdon Blvd, Duluth, MN 55804 USA, . Tel: 218-529-5119
| | - Colleen M. Elonen
- US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division, 6201 Congdon Blvd., Duluth, MN 55804, USA
| | - Anne Pilli
- General Dynamics Information Technology, 6201 Congdon Blvd., Duluth, MN 55804, USA
| | - Arne Anderson
- General Dynamics Information Technology, 6201 Congdon Blvd., Duluth, MN 55804, USA
| | - Brian Kinziger
- General Dynamics Information Technology, 6201 Congdon Blvd., Duluth, MN 55804, USA
| | - Stephen Erickson
- General Dynamics Information Technology, 6201 Congdon Blvd., Duluth, MN 55804, USA
| | - Michael Skopinski
- General Dynamics Information Technology, 6201 Congdon Blvd., Duluth, MN 55804, USA
| | - Anita Pomplun
- General Dynamics Information Technology, 6201 Congdon Blvd., Duluth, MN 55804, USA
| | - Carlie A. LaLone
- US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division, 6201 Congdon Blvd., Duluth, MN 55804, USA
| | - Christine L. Russom
- US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division, 6201 Congdon Blvd., Duluth, MN 55804, USA
| | - Dale Hoff
- US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division, 6201 Congdon Blvd., Duluth, MN 55804, USA
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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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Hoffmann S, Marigliani B, Akgün-Ölmez SG, Ireland D, Cruz R, Busquet F, Flick B, Lalu M, Ghandakly EC, de Vries RBM, Witters H, Wright RA, Ölmez M, Willett C, Hartung T, Stephens ML, Tsaioun K. A Systematic Review to Compare Chemical Hazard Predictions of the Zebrafish Embryotoxicity Test With Mammalian Prenatal Developmental Toxicity. Toxicol Sci 2021; 183:14-35. [PMID: 34109416 PMCID: PMC8404989 DOI: 10.1093/toxsci/kfab072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Originally developed to inform the acute toxicity of chemicals on fish, the zebrafish embryotoxicity test (ZET) has also been proposed for assessing the prenatal developmental toxicity of chemicals, potentially replacing mammalian studies. Although extensively evaluated in primary studies, a comprehensive review summarizing the available evidence for the ZET's capacity is lacking. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review of how well the presence or absence of exposure-related findings in the ZET predicts prenatal development toxicity in studies with rats and rabbits. A two-tiered systematic review of the developmental toxicity literature was performed, a review of the ZET literature was followed by one of the mammalian literature. Data were extracted using DistillerSR, and study validity was assessed with an amended SYRCLE's risk-of-bias tool. Extracted data were analyzed for each species and substance, which provided the basis for comparing the 2 test methods. Although limited by the number of 24 included chemicals, our results suggest that the ZET has potential to identify chemicals that are mammalian prenatal developmental toxicants, with a tendency for overprediction. Furthermore, our analysis confirmed the need for further standardization of the ZET. In addition, we identified contextual and methodological challenges in the application of systematic review approaches to toxicological questions. One key to overcoming these challenges is a transition to more comprehensive and transparent planning, conduct and reporting of toxicological studies. The first step toward bringing about this change is to create broad awareness in the toxicological community of the need for and benefits of more evidence-based approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Hoffmann
- Evidence-Based Toxicology Collaboration (EBTC), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
- seh consulting + services, 33106 Paderborn, Germany
| | - Bianca Marigliani
- Department of Science and Technology, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), São José dos Campos, 12231-280 São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Sevcan Gül Akgün-Ölmez
- Department of Pharmaceutical Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Marmara University, Istanbul, 34722, Turkey
| | - Danielle Ireland
- Department of Biology, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081, USA
| | - Rebecca Cruz
- Laboratory of Dental Clinical Research, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, 20520-040 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Burkhard Flick
- Experimental Toxicology and Ecology, BASF SE, 67063 Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany
| | - Manoj Lalu
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, K1H 8L6 Ontario, Canada
| | - Elizabeth C Ghandakly
- Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
| | - Rob B M de Vries
- Evidence-Based Toxicology Collaboration (EBTC), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
- Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory Experimentation (SYRCLE), Department for Health Evidence, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboudumc, 6500HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Robert A Wright
- William H. Welch Medical Library, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
| | - Metin Ölmez
- Umraniye Family Health Center (No. 44), Turkish Ministry of Health, 34760 Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Catherine Willett
- Humane Society International, Washington, 20037 District of Columbia, USA
| | - Thomas Hartung
- Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
| | - Martin L Stephens
- Evidence-Based Toxicology Collaboration (EBTC), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
| | - Katya Tsaioun
- Evidence-Based Toxicology Collaboration (EBTC), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
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Maertens A, Golden E, Hartung T. Avoiding Regrettable Substitutions: Green Toxicology for Sustainable Chemistry. ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING 2021; 9:7749-7758. [PMID: 36051558 PMCID: PMC9432817 DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c09435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Green chemistry seeks to design less hazardous chemicals, but many of the efforts to replace chemicals have resulted in so-called "Regrettable Substitutions", when a chemical with an unknown or unforeseen hazard is used to replace a chemical identified as problematic. Here, we discuss the literature on regrettable substitution and focus on an oft-mentioned case, Bisphenol A, which was replaced with Bisphenol S-and the lessons that can be learned from this history. In particular, we focus on how Green Toxicology can offer a way to make better substitutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Maertens
- Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Emily Golden
- Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States
| | - Thomas Hartung
- Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, United States; CAAT-Europe, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
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The EU-ToxRisk method documentation, data processing and chemical testing pipeline for the regulatory use of new approach methods. Arch Toxicol 2020; 94:2435-2461. [PMID: 32632539 PMCID: PMC7367925 DOI: 10.1007/s00204-020-02802-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Hazard assessment, based on new approach methods (NAM), requires the use of batteries of assays, where individual tests may be contributed by different laboratories. A unified strategy for such collaborative testing is presented. It details all procedures required to allow test information to be usable for integrated hazard assessment, strategic project decisions and/or for regulatory purposes. The EU-ToxRisk project developed a strategy to provide regulatorily valid data, and exemplified this using a panel of > 20 assays (with > 50 individual endpoints), each exposed to 19 well-known test compounds (e.g. rotenone, colchicine, mercury, paracetamol, rifampicine, paraquat, taxol). Examples of strategy implementation are provided for all aspects required to ensure data validity: (i) documentation of test methods in a publicly accessible database; (ii) deposition of standard operating procedures (SOP) at the European Union DB-ALM repository; (iii) test readiness scoring accoding to defined criteria; (iv) disclosure of the pipeline for data processing; (v) link of uncertainty measures and metadata to the data; (vi) definition of test chemicals, their handling and their behavior in test media; (vii) specification of the test purpose and overall evaluation plans. Moreover, data generation was exemplified by providing results from 25 reporter assays. A complete evaluation of the entire test battery will be described elsewhere. A major learning from the retrospective analysis of this large testing project was the need for thorough definitions of the above strategy aspects, ideally in form of a study pre-registration, to allow adequate interpretation of the data and to ensure overall scientific/toxicological validity.
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