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Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Based Developmental Toxicity Assays for Chemical Safety Screening and Systems Biology Data Generation
Published on: June 17, 2015
Precision-cut tissue chips as an in vitro toxicology system
J M Catania1, A M Pershing, A J Gandolfi
1Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Summary
A new tissue chip system enhances mouse organ toxicity testing by increasing sample yield and reducing analysis time. This method uses fluorescent probes to efficiently assess cell viability and toxicant effects.
Area of Science:
- Toxicology
- Biotechnology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Precision-cut tissue slices preserve organ architecture and cellular heterogeneity for toxicity studies.
- Optimizing sample generation from small tissues, like mouse organs, is crucial for efficient research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a tissue chip-based system for generating numerous samples from single mouse organs.
- To establish rapid and reliable assays for assessing tissue viability and susceptibility to toxicants.
Main Methods:
- A tissue chip system was employed to process small organ tissues.
- Iodoacetamide (IAM) was used as a model toxicant.
- Assays included intracellular potassium, 6-carboxyfluorescein, FURA-2 (calcium), and monobromobimane (sulfhydryl) probes.
Main Results:
- The tissue chip system increased sample yield per organ/mouse by at least threefold.
- Analysis time per sample was significantly reduced.
- Fluorescent probes demonstrated dose-dependent responses to IAM, indicating membrane disruption, calcium level changes, and sulfhydryl group modification.
Conclusions:
- The tissue chip system offers an efficient method for high-throughput toxicity testing using mouse organs.
- The developed assays provide rapid and specific measurements of toxicant-induced cellular damage.
- This approach enhances the utility of small tissue samples in toxicological research.
