VACCINE

Scope • 1990
Short-term Toxicity Tests for Non-genotoxic Effects
Toxicity Tests with Mammalian Cell Cultures
B. Ekwall, V. Silano, A. Paganuzzi-Stammati, F. Zucco
Introduction
Cell culture can be used to screen for toxicity both by estimation of the basal functions
of the cell (i.e. those processes common to all types of cells) or by tests on specialized
cell functions (Ekwall, 1983b). General toxicity tests, aimed mainly at detection of
the biological activity of test substances, can be carried out on many cell types (e.g.
fibroblasts, HeLa and hepatoma cells). A number of parameters including vital staining,
cytosolic enzyme release, cell growth and cloning efficien- cy are used as end-points
to measure toxicity. Organ-specific toxic effects are tested using specialized cells by
measuring alterations in membrane and metabolism integ- rity and/or in specific cell
functions (e.g. glycogen metabolism in primary hepatocyte cultures, beating rate in
mixed myocardial cells or myocytes, and phagocytosis in macrophages).
[shows that as far back as 1990
we could test for non-genotoxic cellular toxicity]
http://dge.stanford.edu/SCOPE/SCOPE_41/SCOPE_41_2.02_Chapter_7_75-98.pdf