New non-animal toxicity test
9 May 2017 by Evoluted New Media
Researchers in Sweden have developed a method to reduce the need for animals in toxicological testing.
Researchers in Sweden have developed a method to reduce the need for animals in toxicological testing.
They have created a neuronal cell model that can evaluate the neurotoxic effects of chemicals and capable of enabling large scale toxicity evaluations to be carried out.
Dina Popova, a doctoral student at Umeå University, said: “Simple and robust cellular models are important because they allow us to screen a large number of chemicals including environmental pollutants, cosmetics, food preservatives and drugs for potential toxicity. Moreover, they allow us to investigate mechanisms of toxicity on the cellular level.”
Popova had been researching the usefulness of murine embryonal carcinoma P19 cells – a cell line that can be easily cultured in vitro. Due to their ability to differentiate into a variety of cells, Popova induced them to become neurons with a number of characteristics similar to mammalian brain cells.
Tests showed that these P19 neurons can detect neurotoxic compounds such as methylmercury, okadaic acid and acrylamide. This neuronal cell model can also test the toxicity of MDMA, ecstasy and a wide range of so-called designer drugs. When compared to other standardised models used to test neurotoxicity, P19 cells were found to have the highest sensitivity.
A link to the study, published by Popova for her dissertation, can be found here.
