Internal Threshold of Toxicological Concern (iTTC): Where We Are Today and What Is Possible in the Near Future.

The Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) is a risk assessment tool for evaluating low-level exposure to chemicals with limited toxicological data. A next step in the ongoing development of TTC is to extend this concept further so that it can be applied to internal exposures. This refinement of TTC based on plasma concentrations, referred to as internal TTC (iTTC), attempts to convert the chemical-specific external NOAELs (in mg/kg/day) in the TTC database to an estimated internal exposure. A multi-stakeholder collaboration formed, with the aim of establishing an iTTC suitable for human safety risk assessment. Here, we discuss the advances and future directions for the iTTC project, including: (1) results from the systematic literature search for metabolism and pharmacokinetic data for the 1,251 chemicals in the iTTC database; (2) selection of ~350 chemicals that will be included in the final iTTC; (3) an overview of the in vitro caco-2 and in vitro hepatic metabolism studies currently being generated for the iTTC chemicals; (4) demonstrate how PBPK modeling is being utilized to convert a chemical-specific external NOAEL to an internal exposure; (5) perspective on the next steps in the iTTC project.

Suppression of ABCG2 mediated MDR in vitro and in vivo by a novel inhibitor of ABCG2 drug transport.

Cancer is a disease whose treatment is often limited due to the development of a phenomenon known as multidrug resistance (MDR). There is an immense demand for development of novel agents that can overcome the MDR in cancer. A group of transmembrane proteins called ATP-binding cassette transporters, present ubiquitously in the human body possesses a modular architecture, contributing immensely towards the development of MDR. An analysis of structural congeners among a group of compounds led to the discovery of CCTA-1523 that could selectively reverse ABCG2-mediated MDR in cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. CCTA-1523 (5µM) sensitized the ABCG2 overexpressing cancer cells and ABCG2 transfected cells to the substrate chemotherapeutic drugs. The reversal ability of CCTA-1523 was primarily due to the inhibition of the efflux function of ABCG2; also there was no change in the protein expression or the localization of the ABCG2 in the presence of CCTA-1523. The reversal effect of CCTA-1523 was reversible. Importantly, co-administration of CCTA-1523 restored the in vivo antitumor activity of doxorubicin in ABCG2 overexpressing tumor xenografts. Taken together, our findings indicate that CCTA-1523 is a potent, selective and reversible modulator of ABCG2 that may offer therapeutic promise for multidrug- resistant malignancies.

Trace metals alter DNA repair and histone modification pathways concurrently in mouse embryonic stem cells.

Exposure to metals alters gene expression, changes transcription rates or interferes with DNA repair mechanisms. We tested a hypothesis to determine whether in vitro acute metal exposure, with or without recovery, alters epigenetic pathways in mouse embryonic stem (mES) cells. We measured cell viability, total and histone protein production, changes in gene expression for differentiation and DNA repair, and histone lysine mono-methylation (H3K27me1), in differentiated cells. Confluent differentiated cultures of mES cells were exposed to arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), lithium (Li), mercury (Hg), and nickel (Ni), for 1-h and 24-h, followed by a recovery period. The data demonstrate that maximum cell death occurred during the first few hours of exposure at 24-h IC50 concentrations for all metals. Prolonged in vitro exposure to metals at low concentrations also inhibited protein production and cell proliferation. Subsequently, we determined that metals alter cell differentiation (Oct-4 and egfr) and DNA repair mechanisms (Rad-18, Top-3a and Ogg-1). Interestingly, As, Cd, Hg, and Ni decreased cell proliferation to a greater extent than total histone protein production. Yet, at equivalent concentrations, As and Hg significantly decreased total histone protein production per cell compared to respective controls, suggesting suppression of repair or compensatory mechanisms involving histone pathways. And, acute exposure to As, Cd, Hg and Ni decreased H3K27me1 residue, when compared to control cells. Because activation of cellular differentiation, histone modification, and DNA repair are linked by common transcriptional pathways, and the data propose that metals alter these conduits, then it is reasonable to conclude that trace quantities of metals are capable of suppressing regulation of chromatin structure, cellular differentiation, and controlled cell proliferation in mES cells.