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Published on: June 17, 2015
Toxicity testing in the 21st century: a vision and a strategy
Daniel Krewski1, Daniel Acosta, Melvin Andersen
1R Samuel McLaughlin Centre for Population Health Risk Assessment, Institute of Population Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. dkrewski@uottawa.ca
Summary
The 2007 report "Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century" proposes a shift from animal testing to in vitro assays and computational models for more efficient and human-relevant toxicity testing.
Area of Science:
- Toxicology
- Computational Biology
- Biotechnology
Background:
- The traditional in vivo toxicity testing methods are expensive, time-consuming, and raise ethical concerns regarding animal usage.
- A 2007 report by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences outlined a new vision for toxicity testing.
Observation:
- The proposed strategy involves transitioning to in vitro toxicity pathway assays using human cells.
- High-throughput screening with robotic automation and quantitative mechanistic parameters will be employed.
- Computational systems biology models will be used for dose-response assessments.
Findings:
- This new approach aims to increase efficiency and reduce animal use in toxicity testing.
- It enhances the human relevance of test results by focusing on biological pathways.
- Pharmacokinetic models will facilitate the extrapolation of in vitro data to in vivo human concentrations.
Implications:
- The implementation requires a commitment to change within the scientific community and resource allocation.
- Advancements in computational systems biology and in vitro assays are crucial for this paradigm shift.
- This will establish a new toxicity testing paradigm grounded in human biology, improving risk assessment for exposed populations.
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