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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.

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