The Toxicologist - Society of Toxicology
The Toxicologist - Society of Toxicology
The Toxicologist - Society of Toxicology
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content cytotoxicity screening (HCS) on human HepG2 has been proposed as a<br />
valuable early screening model (applicable during the discovery phase) for the prediction<br />
<strong>of</strong> DILI in man (O’ Brien; 2004). Here we show the in house validation <strong>of</strong><br />
a 6-endpoint HCS-approach based on 99 reference compounds (biased between<br />
hepatotoxic and non toxic compounds). We could demonstrate a sensitivity <strong>of</strong> 72%<br />
towards the prediction <strong>of</strong> strong hepatotoxic compounds and 53% when all hepatotoxicants<br />
were included. Specificity <strong>of</strong> the assay remained 100%, a crucial prerequisite<br />
for any early cytotoxicity screening assay. To further improve the prediction <strong>of</strong><br />
DILI during the discovery phase, we propose a combined strategy including the<br />
HCS and the phenotypic zebrafish hepatotoxicity assay. <strong>The</strong> simplicity <strong>of</strong> the HCS<br />
allows higher throughput screening, while the complexity <strong>of</strong> the zebrafish enables<br />
the detection <strong>of</strong> more complex mechanisms <strong>of</strong> hepatotoxicity at a later stage <strong>of</strong> the<br />
discovery phase. Here we show our evaluation <strong>of</strong> zebrafish larvae as an additional<br />
model to predict human hepatotoxicity. Although some shortcomings <strong>of</strong> the assay<br />
were identified (subjective endpoint, uptake issues and screening <strong>of</strong> one target<br />
organ toxicity only) the obtained predictivity was promising. Significant higher<br />
sensitivity indices were achieved, indicating the whole liver system <strong>of</strong> the zebrafish<br />
is able to detect more hepatotoxicants compared to the HCS, due to its higher level<br />
<strong>of</strong> complexity. Another important aspect <strong>of</strong> improving the prediction is the characterization<br />
<strong>of</strong> the reference compounds in function <strong>of</strong> their induction mechanisms<br />
<strong>of</strong> toxicity. With a subset <strong>of</strong> 45 compounds thoroughly characterized, we do succeed<br />
in obtaining significantly higher sensitivity indices.<br />
1896 MULTIPLEX DETECTION OF OXIDATIVE<br />
PHOSPHORYLATION AS A MECHANISTIC INDICATOR<br />
FOR DRUG-INDUCED MITOCHONDRIAL TOXICITY.<br />
W. Zheng 1 , L. Goretzki 1 , G. Korzus 1 , J. Wang 1 , J. Murray 2 and R. Capaldi 2 .<br />
1 R&D, EMD Millipore, San Diego, CA and 2 R&D, MitoSciences, Eugene, OR.<br />
Sponsor: R. Wiese.<br />
Oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) produces more than 95% <strong>of</strong> the conserved<br />
cellular energy in the form <strong>of</strong> ATP under normal conditions. This process involves<br />
5 different protein complexes, OXPHOS Complex I-V. <strong>The</strong> overall process <strong>of</strong> oxidative<br />
phosphorylation is tightly controlled by transcriptional, post-translational<br />
and substrate feedback regulations. Due to the dual genetic origins <strong>of</strong> OXPHOS<br />
enzymes from both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA, the mitochondrial DNA and<br />
its OXPHOS protein products are specifically susceptible to toxicity induced by a<br />
variety <strong>of</strong> drugs including antiviral and antibiotic compounds. Not surprisingly, the<br />
ability to monitor the levels <strong>of</strong> the 5 OXPHOS complexes need to be a key part <strong>of</strong><br />
drug development and drug toxicity studies. However suitable high throughput approaches<br />
do not exist. Here we describe a high throughput, multiplex approach to<br />
monitoring OXPHOS complex I, II, III, IV, V and NNT using the Luminex<br />
xMAP technology. To evaluate the utility <strong>of</strong> the assay in the early detection <strong>of</strong> drug<br />
induced mitochondrial toxicity, HepG2 cells were treated with chloramphenicol,<br />
an antibiotic compound, ddC, an antiviral compound and two anti-diabetes drugs,<br />
rosiglitazone and troglitazone, one in widespread use but with safety concerns for<br />
cardiotoxicity, the other pulled from the market because <strong>of</strong> serious hepatotoxicity.<br />
<strong>The</strong> OXPHOS multiplex panel was used to quantify the OXPHOS complexes in<br />
the treated cells in comparison to the mock treated controls. <strong>The</strong> results indicated<br />
that the OXPHOS panel can effectively detect the mitochondrial toxicity and provides<br />
mechanistic insights into the drug induced cellular and organ damages at the<br />
OXPHOS expression level. <strong>The</strong> data suggest that OXPHOS multiplex assay could<br />
be used as a novel safety screen tool to identify potential <strong>of</strong>f-target effects for new<br />
antiviral, antibiotic and other drug molecule leads.<br />
1897 IMPORTANCE OF RAT AND HUMAN SCREENS FOR<br />
ARYL HYDROCARBON RECEPTOR (AHR)<br />
ACTIVATION/CYP1A INDUCTION.<br />
H. J. Garside, S. Atwal, M. R. Brown, J. Bowes, M. Graham and J. Valentin.<br />
Global Safety Assessment, AstraZeneca, Macclesfield, United Kingdom.<br />
Persistent activation <strong>of</strong> the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) by xenobiotics can lead<br />
to a wide array <strong>of</strong> toxicological responses including tumour promotion and endocrine<br />
disruption in both pre-clinical animal models and man. However, as there<br />
can be species specific differences between compounds that activate rat and human<br />
AhR, assessment <strong>of</strong> compound action on the AhR from both species allows better<br />
prediction <strong>of</strong> toxicological risk throughout drug discovery and development.<br />
Activation <strong>of</strong> the AhR can be detected by quantifying levels <strong>of</strong> the endogenous<br />
downstream transcriptional targets, CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 in both rat and human<br />
immortalised cell lines using commercially available antibodies. In this system the<br />
standard AhR agonist 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) produced an<br />
EC50 value <strong>of</strong> 5.4 pM in the rodent H4-II-E-C3 cell line and 167 pM in the<br />
406 SOT 2011 ANNUAL MEETING<br />
human HepG2 cell line. <strong>The</strong> rodent PXR agonist/CYP3A inducer pregnenolone-<br />
16 alpha-carbonitrile (PCN) was used as a negative control compound and, as expected,<br />
did not produce a signal above control levels in either cell line.<br />
Results from internal screening programmes show that 34% <strong>of</strong> compounds induce<br />
CYP1A levels in the rat cell line, 10% in both the rat and human cell lines and 2%<br />
in the human cell line alone. Results indicate that the rat cell line is more sensitive<br />
to AhR activators than the human counterpart and that IC50 values should be used<br />
as a factor in the risk assessment <strong>of</strong> this liability. Taken together these data can be<br />
used to predict and explain the mechanism <strong>of</strong> effects on the liver, immune and endocrine<br />
systems in preclinical safety studies in early and late development.<br />
Importantly, the identification <strong>of</strong> human specific AhR activators, whose potential<br />
toxicological effects would be missed in preclinical animal work, can be detected at<br />
an early stage <strong>of</strong> the drug discovery process.<br />
1898 NOVEL IN VITRO APPROACH FOR ASSESSING<br />
CARDIAC CONTRACTILE LIABILITIES USING<br />
MICROPATTERNED MUSCULAR THIN FILMS.<br />
A. Grosberg 1, 2 , M. D. Brigham 1 , J. A. Goss 1 , P. W. Alford 1 and K. K. Parker 1, 2 .<br />
1 Harvard School <strong>of</strong> Engineering and Applied Sciences, Boston, MA and 2 Wyss Institute<br />
for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, Boston, MA. Sponsor: A.<br />
Bahinski.<br />
Cardiotoxicity is one <strong>of</strong> the major forms <strong>of</strong> toxicity seen in drugs and accounts for<br />
a major portion <strong>of</strong> drug recalls and delays experienced in regulatory approvals. In<br />
addition, recent regulation by the FDA has made assessment <strong>of</strong> cardiovascular<br />
safety a critical focus during the development <strong>of</strong> new antidiabetic therapies for Type<br />
2 diabetes mellitus. It is therefore necessary to develop novel and better human-predictive<br />
screening assay systems in order to reduce attrition and increase drug discovery<br />
productivity. We have been able to microengineer functional heart tissues by<br />
culturing cardiomyocytes on one surface <strong>of</strong> elastomeric polymer thin films (muscular<br />
thin film; MTF) micropatterned with extracellular matrix proteins to promote<br />
spatially ordered, two-dimensional myogenesis. In this device, the MTFs remain secured<br />
at their base to a glass surface. During the contraction cycle the films bend up<br />
from the glass coverslips, and the degree <strong>of</strong> bending is directly correlated to the contractility<br />
<strong>of</strong> the cardiomyocytes. <strong>The</strong>se heart tissue constructs are electrically functional<br />
and actively contractile, generating stresses comparable to those produced by<br />
native cardiac muscle. Cardiac muscle engineered with neonatal rat ventricular myocytes<br />
and paced at 0.5 Hz generated stresses <strong>of</strong> 9.2 ± 3.5 kPa at peak systole, similar<br />
to measurements <strong>of</strong> the contractility <strong>of</strong> papillary muscle from adult rats. <strong>The</strong>se<br />
MTFs are amenable to incorporation into micr<strong>of</strong>luidic channels and multiwell<br />
plates, providing a platform that uses a significantly smaller amount <strong>of</strong> cells and<br />
ability to multiplex the assay. This technology provides higher throughput analysis<br />
<strong>of</strong> anisotropic cardiac tissue contractility, which can be used to measure the cardiac<br />
contractile liability <strong>of</strong> drugs, biologics and nanotherapeutics.<br />
1899 A NOVEL IN VITRO APPROACH TO IDENTIFY<br />
MECHANISMS OF HEPATOTOXICITY.<br />
C. Hu, D. Pietrzak, K. French and K. Frazier. Safety Assessment, GlaxoSmithKline,<br />
King <strong>of</strong> Prussia, PA.<br />
Hepatocellular toxicity is a serious issue in drug development. Defining a mechanism<br />
can be difficult because <strong>of</strong> the numerous mechanisms involved and their overlapping<br />
temporal nature. We developed a multiparameter approach in HepG2 cells<br />
using both cytometric and biochemical techniques and verified endpoint sensitivity<br />
using various toxicants with discrete and well-defined mechanisms. Nuclear density,<br />
cell viability, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and oxidative stress<br />
(OS) were monitored using HO33342, TO-PRO-3, TMRM and c-H2DCFDA,<br />
respectively, and quantified using laser scanning cytometry. Cells were exposed to<br />
carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenyharazone (CCCP), a known mitochondrial uncoupler,<br />
and menadione (MD), an OS inducer, for 2h and 24h. CCCP markedly depolarized<br />
mitochondria and unexpectedly increased OS in a dose-dependent manner<br />
with no effect on cell viability after 2h exposure and depolarized mitochondria<br />
with no effect on OS and minor effect on viability after 24h. In MD treated cells,<br />
increased OS and cytotoxicity were observed at both time points. Intracellular ATP<br />
concentrations were measured via bioluminescence and reduced glutathione (GSH)<br />
content was measured via flow cytometry using monobromobimane (MBBr) and<br />
known GSH depleter N-ethylmaleimide. Intracellular calcium ion levels were<br />
measured via flow cytometry using Indo-1 AM and levels rapidly increased after the<br />
addition <strong>of</strong> the toxicant ionomycin. Lipid peroxidation was measured via thiobarbituric<br />
acid-reactive substance quantification, which was increased with the addition<br />
<strong>of</strong> the toxicant cumene hydroperoxide. This novel multiparameter approach<br />
successfully evaluated multiple key mechanisms <strong>of</strong> hepatotoxicity and can easily be<br />
adapted to assessment <strong>of</strong> drug candidates during development.