TestSmart-high production volume chemicals: an approach to implementing alternatives into regulatory toxicology

This article examines the status and application of alternatives defined as replacements, refinements, and reduction for screening high production volume (HPV) chemicals. It specifically focuses on the Screening Information Data Set (SIDS), a series of toxicological tests recommended by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to screen such chemicals. Alternative tests associated with acute, repeat-dose, genetic, and reproductive and developmental toxicity were examined at 2 meetings of academic, industry, and regulatory scientists and their status determined. Tests were placed in 1 of 3 categories: ready for immediate use, in need of or currently undergoing validation, or needing research/developmental work. With respect to traditional acute toxicity testing, the basal cytotoxicity approach was placed in the category of research with the up-and-down, fixed-dose, limit test, and the acute toxic class categorized as available for immediate use and the neutral red assay under validation. Cell culture methods that could provide information on acute target organ toxicity were all categorized in the research stage. Studies of the Ah receptor were placed under validation. All alternative tests for repeat-dose toxicity were placed in the category of research. With regard to genetic toxicity, the Ames, mouse lymphoma, and Chinese hamster ovary methods were considered ready for immediate use, while the in vitro micronucleus and Syrian hamster ovary assays were placed in the validation category. All alternatives for developmental toxicity, with the exception of gene chip technology, were placed in the category of validation. Gene chip technology is considered to be in the research stage. For reproductive toxicity, sperm motility and morphology were considered as ready for immediate use, with the other assays categorized as needing validation or in the research stage. Follow-up to these results is obvious. Work needs to be conducted to move those tests from the research stage to the validation and use stage. This is one approach to the development of alternatives to SIDS. Progress along these lines would apply not only to SIDS but also to toxicology in general.