Sarah AdlerDavid BasketterStuart CretonOlavi PelkonenJan van BenthemValerie Zuang • Klaus Ejner AndersenAlexandre Angers-LoustauAynur AptulaAnna Bal-PriceEmilio Benfenati • Ulrike BernauerJos BessemsFrederic Y. BoisAlan BoobisEsther BrandonSusanne Bremer • Thomas BroschardSilvia CasatiSandra CoeckeRaffaella CorviMark CroninGeorge Daston • Wolfgang DekantSusan FelterElise GrignardUrsula Gundert-RemyTuula HeinonenIan Kimber • Jos KleinjansHannu KomulainenReinhard KreilingJoachim KreysaSofia Batista LeiteGeorge Loizou • Gavin MaxwellPaolo MazzatortaSharon MunnStefan PfuhlerPascal PhrakonkhamAldert Piersma • Albrecht PothPilar PrietoGuillermo RepettoVera RogiersGreet SchoetersMichael Schwarz • Rositsa SerafimovaHanna TahtiEmanuela TestaiJoost van DelftHenk van LoverenMathieu Vinken • Andrew WorthJose ´-Manuel Zaldivar

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Alternative (non-animal) methods for cosmetics testing: current status and future prospects—2010

In the embryonic stem cell test (EST), differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) is used as a model to assess embryotoxicity in vitro. The test was successfully validated by the European Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) and models fundamental mechanisms in embryotoxicity, such as cytotoxicity and differentiation. In addition, differences in sensitivity between differentiated (adult) and embryonic cells are also taken into consideration. To predict the embryotoxic potential of a test substance, three endpoints are assessed: the inhibition of differentiation into beating cardiomyocytes, the cytotoxic effects on stem cells and the cytotoxic effects on 3T3 fibroblasts. A special feature of the EST is that it is solely based on permanent cell lines so that primary embryonic cells and tissues from pregnant animals are not needed. In this protocol, we describe the ECVAM-validated method, in which the morphological assessment of contracting cardiomyocytes is used as an endpoint for differentiation, and the molecular-based FACS-EST method, in which highly predictive protein markers specific for developing heart tissue were selected. With these methods, the embryotoxic potency of a compound can be assessed in vitro within 10 or 7 d, respectively.

The validated embryonic stem cell test to predict embryotoxicity in vitro

Significant advances in biomaterials, stem cell biology, and microscale technologies have enabled the fabrication of biologically relevant tissues and organs. Such tissues and organs, referred to as organ-on-a-chip (OOC) platforms, have emerged as a powerful tool in tissue analysis and disease modeling for biological and pharmacological applications. A variety of biomaterials are used in tissue fabrication providing multiple biological, structural, and mechanical cues in the regulation of cell behavior and tissue morphogenesis. Cells derived from humans enable the fabrication of personalized OOC platforms. Microscale technologies are specifically helpful in providing physiological microenvironments for tissues and organs. In this review, biomaterials, cells, and microscale technologies are described as essential components to construct OOC platforms. The latest developments in OOC platforms (e.g., liver, skeletal muscle, cardiac, cancer, lung, skin, bone, and brain) are then discussed as functional tools in simulating human physiology and metabolism. Future perspectives and major challenges in the development of OOC platforms toward accelerating clinical studies of drug discovery are finally highlighted.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/adhm.201800734

Organ-On-A-Chip Platforms: A Convergence of Advanced Materials, Cells, and Microscale Technologies.

Predicting human developmental toxicity of pharmaceuticals using human embryonic stem cells and metabolomics.

The use of novel drugs and chemicals requires reliable data on their potential toxic effects on humans. Current test systems are mainly based on animals or in vitro–cultured animal-derived cells and do not or not sufficiently mirror the situation in humans. Therefore, in vitro models based on human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have become an attractive alternative. The article summarizes the characteristics of pluripotent stem cells, including embryonic carcinoma and embryonic germ cells, and discusses the potential of pluripotent stem cells for safety pharmacology and toxicology. Special attention is directed to the potential application of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for the assessment of developmental toxicology as well as cardio- and hepatotoxicology. With respect to embryotoxicology, recent achievements of the embryonic stem cell test (EST) are described and current limitations as well as prospects of embryotoxicity studies using pluripotent stem cells are discussed. Furthermore, recent efforts to establish hPSC-based cell models for testing cardio- and hepatotoxicity are presented. In this context, methods for differentiation and selection of cardiac and hepatic cells from hPSCs are summarized, requirements and implications with respect to the use of these cells in safety pharmacology and toxicology are presented, and future challenges and perspectives of using hPSCs are discussed.

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Present state and future perspectives of using pluripotent stem cells in toxicology research

The new European chemicals policy for the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (the REACH system), requires the routine toxicological testing of chemicals produced in volumes of more than one tonne per year, in order to enhance environmental and consumer safety (1). Under the REACH system policy, it will be most probably necessary to test several thousand chemicals for their toxicological properties.

M. Verwei

Papers

A review of the implementation of the embryonic stem cell test (EST). The report and recommendations of an ECVAM/ReProTect Workshop.