Computational models for predicting liver toxicity in the deep learning era

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a severe adverse reaction caused by drugs and may result in acute liver failure and even death. Many efforts have centered on mitigating risks associated with potential DILI in humans. Among these, quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) was proven to be a valuable tool for early-stage hepatotoxicity screening. Its advantages include no requirement for physical substances and rapid delivery of results. Deep learning (DL) made rapid advancements recently and has been used for developing QSAR models. This review discusses the use of DL in predicting DILI, focusing on the development of QSAR models employing extensive chemical structure datasets alongside their corresponding DILI outcomes. We undertake a comprehensive evaluation of various DL methods, comparing with those of traditional machine learning (ML) approaches, and explore the strengths and limitations of DL techniques regarding their interpretability, scalability, and generalization. Overall, our review underscores the potential of DL methodologies to enhance DILI prediction and provides insights into future avenues for developing predictive models to mitigate DILI risk in humans.