May 2018
Holger Behrsing, PhD, Presenting at SIVB, June 5th, 2018
May 30, 2018Our very own Holger Behrsing, PhD, will be presenting at SIVB's Annual Meeting in St. Louis. His presentation on Tuesday, June 5th is titled "Pragmatic Use of State-of-the-Art Lung Models to Evaluate Exposure-induced, Adverse Pulmonary Effects" and will provide an overview of in vitro/ex vivo pulmonary models and how they can be incorporated into a screening/testing strategy for chemicals that can include more complex human pulmonary adverse events that are evaluable in modern 3D systems. Read More...
ASCCT Abstract Submission and Registration Now Open!
May 23, 2018Registration is now open for the 7th Annual ASCCT Meeting - Predictive Toxicology: Strategies for Implementing New Approaches - being held September 11-12, 2018, at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. Learn More...
EU Parliament Calls for UN Convention on Use of Animal Testing for Cosmetics
May 8, 2018The non-binding resolution calls for a diplomatic push towards a global animal testing ban for cosmetics to be in place by 2023. Europe fully banned cosmetic animal testing in 2013, but it is still permitted in 80% of countries worldwide. Read article....
Virginia Lawmakers Lauded for Law Requiring Use of Non-Animal Test Methods
April 20, 2018The Humane Society of the United States thanks Governor Ralph Northam for signing a bill to reduce the use of animals in product testing. Virginia is only the fourth state in the country to pass such a law. Delegate Jennifer Boysko, D-86, was the lead patron of the bill, HB 1087. Read article....
EPA to Accept Non-Animal Skin Test Data
April 12, 2018The EPA has released a new policy that will allow chemical and pesticide makers to provide the EPA with data from non-animal test methods when assessing for skin allergies. Congratulations to the EPA OPP team for working so hard to put in place this new policy. Read the article here....
New Studies Demonstrate Risk Reduction Potential of Heat-Not-Burn Tobacco Products and e-Cigarettes
April 12, 2018IIVS, in collaboration with Philip Morris International, recently presented data highlighting the predictive capability of in vitro assays in determining human response to non-burn tobacco products. Moreover, a ring trial of 6 independent laboratories has generated evidence that key events involved in human disease caused by nicotine-based products can be replicated using non-animal models. These results may increase interest in the use of alternative testing strategies for research and development and, eventually, regulatory acceptance. Read article. ...
Evaluation of Phototoxicity of Ocular Medical and Combination Devices
March 28, 2018To address ocular device induced phototoxicity, an in vitro 3T3 Neutral Red Uptake Phototoxicity test (OECD 432) for chemicals has been modified. Soft contact lenses formulated with three different photo-absorbing compounds and chemical solutions of these compounds were evaluated....
The Assessment of Phototoxicity Using the 3T3 Neutral Red Uptake (NRU) Phototoxicity Assay and a Modified Photo-Direct Peptide Reactivity Assay (DPRA)
March 28, 2018Alternative methods, including the validated 3T3 Neutral Red Uptake (NRU) Phototoxicity assay (OECD TG 432) may be used as a pre-clinical test to address phototoxicity. Currently, there are no validated alternative test methods to identify photoallergens; however, there are several validated alternative test methods to address skin sensitization, including the Direct Peptide Reactivity Assay (DPRA) (OECD 442C). To address photoallergy, we utilized the 3T3 Phototoxicity assay in combination with a modified photo-DPRA assay to determine if these assays were able...
Human In Vitro Models for Respiratory Toxicology: Evaluation of Goblet Cell Hyperplasia, Mucus Production, and Ciliary Beating Assays
March 28, 2018Robust non-animal models and assays for pulmonary toxicology are required to make competent product development and risk assessments for new materials requiring toxicity testing. Three in vitro assays (goblet cell hyperplasia [GCH], ciliary beat frequency [CBF], and MUC5AC quantitation) were evaluated for performance and reproducibility. To assess these assays, 6 laboratories contributed data using a common protocol utilizing IL-13 as an inducer of adverse mucociliary-relevant tissue changes. MatTek EpiAirway™ and Epithelix MucilAir™ 3D tissue models were used to evaluate endpoints...
Use of Ex Vivo Precision-Cut Lung Slices as a Screening Tool for Potential Respiratory Toxicity of E-Liquids
March 28, 2018E-vapor product liquids contain a variety of ingredient combinations that should be assessed for human risk. One human lung-relevant testing platform with reasonable throughput, is human precision-cut lung slices (HuPCLS). HuPCLS are arguably the most complex non-animal model of the lung, retaining native architecture and immune-competent cells over multi-week culture periods. HuPCLS were exposed to three concentrations (0.1%, 0.5%, and 1.2%) of propylene glycol (PG; an E-vapor product constituent) continuously for 16-days. Exposure-effects were evaluated biochemically (WST-8 assay) and histologically (viability...