Using inhibition of the adipogenesis of adipose-derived stem cells in vitro for toxicity prediction.

In vitro stem cell models are used as alternatives to animal models and are important tools for cytotoxicity studies. Researchers can determine the effects of test substances on human cells by evaluating cell viability and differentiation. Here, we describe an in vitro model to quantify adipogenesis based on the Nile red staining of specific lipid droplets and the emission of basic lipids from human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (AD-MSCs) in the presence of test substances. This assay allows for the prediction of toxicity based on the inhibition of adipogenesis in vitro in a 96-well format. The differentiation of a progenitor cell into a specialized cell, the adipocyte, is easy to monitor and quantify, making this a simple assay. The fluorescence staining of nuclei and lipid droplets is measured after 14 days of cell differentiation to determine cell number and assess cell differentiation using high-content imaging analysis, thus allowing for the identification of chemicals that impact differentiation. We also describe a protocol to assess adipocyte differentiation by fluorescence intensity using a multiplate reader.•Researchers can utilize the protocol described here for many purposes to evaluate in vitro adipogenesis.•With this method, it is possible to reduce the use of animals.

The inhibition of adipogenesis via an in vitro assay can reduce animal use by more precisely estimating the starting dose for the acute toxic class method.

In the present work, we established an adipogenesis inhibition assay as an adequate and sensitive in vitro model for reducing animal use by estimating the starting dose for the acute toxic class (ATC) method. First, human adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) underwent adipogenic differentiation induction for 14 days. Then, by high-content imaging analysis, we determined the percentage and area of cell differentiation that we considered suitable for negative and positive internal control according to the quality control criteria strictly standardized mean difference (SSMD) and robust SSMD. Moreover, we established sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as an external positive control in this assay. To measure reduction in animal use to estimate the starting dose for the ATC method, we evaluated 10 chemicals representing Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) toxicity categories 1-5 and unclassified toxicity and determined the dose-response curves for percentage and area of cell differentiation by using the Hill function with an R2 ≥ 0.85. The resulting IC50 values were used for LD50 prediction and for estimating the starting dose for the ATC method. Our results indicated that use of the inhibition of adipogenesis assay to estimate the starting dose for the ATC method would decrease animal use for 7 out of 10 tested substances, possibly all substances if we consider the more toxic test substances in GHS categories 1, 2, and 3. We can conclude that the present assay is a suitable alternative to reduce animal testing in the first steps of predicting highly toxic substances. Moreover, this method also presents internal and external controls as differentials, which guarantee the quality of the assay as well as the results. These features are important for suggesting a methodology for regulatory purposes.