Multidimensional in vivo hazard assessment using zebrafish.

TitleMultidimensional in vivo hazard assessment using zebrafish.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2014
AuthorsTruong, L, Reif, DM, St Mary, L, Geier, MC, Truong, HD, Tanguay, RL
JournalToxicol Sci
Volume137
Issue1
Pagination212-33
Date Published2014 Jan
ISSN1096-0929
KeywordsAnimals, Cluster Analysis, Computational Biology, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Embryo, Nonmammalian, Embryonic Development, Environmental Pollutants, High-Throughput Screening Assays, Humans, Motor Activity, Notochord, Reproducibility of Results, Risk Assessment, Toxicity Tests, Zebrafish
Abstract

There are tens of thousands of man-made chemicals in the environment; the inherent safety of most of these chemicals is not known. Relevant biological platforms and new computational tools are needed to prioritize testing of chemicals with limited human health hazard information. We describe an experimental design for high-throughput characterization of multidimensional in vivo effects with the power to evaluate trends relating to commonly cited chemical predictors. We evaluated all 1060 unique U.S. EPA ToxCast phase 1 and 2 compounds using the embryonic zebrafish and found that 487 induced significant adverse biological responses. The utilization of 18 simultaneously measured endpoints means that the entire system serves as a robust biological sensor for chemical hazard. The experimental design enabled us to describe global patterns of variation across tested compounds, evaluate the concordance of the available in vitro and in vivo phase 1 data with this study, highlight specific mechanisms/value-added/novel biology related to notochord development, and demonstrate that the developmental zebrafish detects adverse responses that would be missed by less comprehensive testing strategies.

DOI10.1093/toxsci/kft235
Alternate JournalToxicol. Sci.
PubMed ID24136191
PubMed Central IDPMC3871932
Grant ListP42 ES016465 / ES / NIEHS NIH HHS / United States
T32 ES007060 / ES / NIEHS NIH HHS / United States
P30 ES000210 / ES / NIEHS NIH HHS / United States
P30 RC4 ES019764 / ES / NIEHS NIH HHS / United States