In chemico, in vitro and in vivo comparison of the skin sensitizing potential of eight unsaturated and one saturated lipid compounds.

The applicability of the Direct Peptide Reactivity Assay (DPRA), the KeratinoSens™ assay and the human cell line activation test (OECD Test Guidelines 442C, 442D, 442E) in predicting the skin sensitising potential of nine lipid (bio)chemicals was investigated. The results from the three assays were integrated using a published prediction model (PM), by which skin sensitisation is predicted if at least two of the three assays yield positive results. Of the eight test substances that were classified as non-sensitisers using available Guinea Pig Maximisation Test (GPMT) data, only five were correctly predicted as 'negative' in the PM. (However, only two were correctly predicted as 'negative' in the murine Local Lymph Node Assay.) The one lipid (bio)chemical that tested positive in the GPMT was also positive applying the PM. Based upon the outcome of the present study, lipid (bio)chemicals with a log Kow up to 7-8 appear amenable to the three assays. However, solubility problems, that were not evident initially, affected the performance of the DPRA. Further investigations are merited to address the conclusiveness of negative test results with concurrent lack of cytotoxicity in the in vitro assays, to evaluate if poorly soluble substances come into contact with the cells.

Assessing safety of extractables from materials and leachables in pharmaceuticals and biologics - Current challenges and approaches.

Leachables from pharmaceutical container closure systems can present potential safety risks to patients. Extractables studies may be performed as a risk mitigation activity to identify potential leachables for dosage forms with a high degree of concern associated with the route of administration. To address safety concerns, approaches to toxicological safety evaluation of extractables and leachables have been developed and applied by pharmaceutical and biologics manufacturers. Details of these approaches may differ depending on the nature of the final drug product. These may include application, the formulation, route of administration and length of use. Current regulatory guidelines and industry standards provide general guidance on compound specific safety assessments but do not provide a comprehensive approach to safety evaluations of leachables and/or extractables. This paper provides a perspective on approaches to safety evaluations by reviewing and applying general concepts and integrating key steps in the toxicological evaluation of individual extractables or leachables. These include application of structure activity relationship studies, development of permitted daily exposure (PDE) values, and use of safety threshold concepts. Case studies are provided. The concepts presented seek to encourage discussion in the scientific community, and are not intended to represent a final opinion or "guidelines."

Development of Duration-Based Non-Mutagenic Thresholds of Toxicological Concern (TTCs) Relevant to Parenteral Extractables and Leachables (E&Ls).

The threshold of toxicological concern (TTC), i.e., the dose of a compound lacking sufficient experimental toxicity data that is unlikely to result in an adverse health effect in humans, is important for evaluating extractables and leachables (E&Ls) as it guides analytical testing and minimizes the use of animal studies. The Extractables and Leachables Safety Information Exchange (ELSIE) consortium, which consists of member companies that span biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medical device industries, brought together subject matter expert toxicologists to derive TTC values for organic, non-mutagenic E&L substances when administered parenterally. A total of 488 E&L compounds from the ELSIE database were analyzed and parenteral point of departure (PPOD) estimates were derived for 252 compounds. The PPOD estimates were adjusted to extrapolate to subacute, subchronic, and chronic durations of nonclinical exposure and the lower fifth percentiles were calculated. An additional 100-fold adjustment factor to account for nonclinical species and human variability was subsequently applied to derive the parenteral TTC values for E&Ls. The resulting parenteral TTC values are 35, 110, and 180 µg/day for human exposures of >10 years to lifetime, >1-10 years, and ≤1 year, respectively. These parenteral TTCs are expected to be conservative for E&Ls that are considered non-mutagenic per ICH M7(R1) guidelines.

Biotransformation and toxicokinetics of the insect repellent IR3535® in male and female human subjects after dermal exposure.

The absorption and excretion of the insect repellent IR3535(®) was studied in human subjects (five males and five females) after dermal application of approx. 3g of a formulation containing 20% IR3535(®), i.e. the amounts of IR3535(®) applied were between 1.94 and 3.4 mmol/person (418-731 mg/person). Blood and urinary concentrations of IR3535(®) and its only metabolite, IR3535(®)-free acid, were determined over time. In plasma, concentrations of the parent compound IR3535(®) were at or below the limit of quantification (0.037 µmol/L). IR3535(®)-free acid peaked in plasma samples 2-6h after dermal application. Cmax mean values were 5.7 µmol/L in males, 3.0 µmol/L in females and 4.2 µmol/L in all volunteers. Mean AUC values were 41.6, 24.5 and 33.9 µmolL(-1)h in males, females and all subjects, respectively. In urine samples from all human subjects, both IR3535(®) and IR3535(®)-free acid were detectable, however, only very small amounts of IR3535(®) were found. Concentrations of IR3535(®)-free acid were several thousand-fold higher than the parent compound and peaked at the first two sampling points (4h and 8h after dermal application). Overall, IR3535(®) and IR3535(®)-free acid excreted with urine over 48 h representing 13.3 ± 3.05% of the dose applied. Since IR3535(®) is rapidly and extensively metabolized, and IR3535(®)-free acid has a low molecular weight and high water solubility, it is expected that urinary excretion of IR3535(®)-free acid and IR3535(®) represents the total extent of absorption of IR3535(®) in humans. Based on the results of this study, the skin penetration rate of IR3535(®) is 13.3% in humans after dermal application.

Developmental effects of coumarin and the anticoagulant coumarin derivative warfarin on zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos.

Coumarin and warfarin, two substances which are intensively metabolized in animals and humans, were tested for teratogenicity and embryo lethality in a 3-day in vitro assay using zebrafish embryos. Warfarin is a coumarin derivative, but in contrast to the mother substance warfarin has anticoagulant properties. Both substances produced teratogenic and lethal effects in zebrafish embryos. The LC(50) and EC(50) values for coumarin are 855 µM and 314 µM, respectively; the corresponding values for warfarin are 988 µM and 194 µM. For coumarin, three main or fingerprint endpoints (malformation of head, tail and growth retardation) were identified, whereas malformation of tail was the only fingerprint endpoint of warfarin. The analysis of the ratios between the zebrafish embryo effect concentrations of both substances and human therapeutic plasma concentrations confirmed the teratogenic potential of warfarin, as well as the equivocal status of coumarin.

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos as a model for testing proteratogens.

Zebrafish embryos have been shown to be a useful model for the detection of direct acting teratogens. This communication presents a protocol for a 3-day in vitro zebrafish embryo teratogenicity assay and describes results obtained for 10 proteratogens: 2-acetylaminofluorene, benzo[a]pyrene, aflatoxin B(1), carbamazepine, phenytoin, trimethadione, cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, tegafur and thio-TEPA. The selection of the test substances accounts for differences in structure, origin, metabolism and water solubility. Apart from 2-acetylaminofluorene, which mainly produces lethal effects, all proteratogens tested were teratogenic in zebrafish embryos exposed for 3 days. The test substances and/or the substance class produced characteristic patterns of fingerprint endpoints. Several substances produced effects that could be identified already at 1 dpf (days post fertilization), whereas the effects of others could only be identified unambiguously after hatching at ≥ 3 dpf. The LC50 and EC50 values were used to calculate the teratogenicity index (TI) for the different substances, and the EC20 values were related to human plasma concentrations. Results lead to the conclusion that zebrafish embryos are able to activate proteratogenic substances without addition of an exogenous metabolic activation system. Moreover, the teratogenic effects were observed at concentrations relevant to human exposure data. Along with other findings, our results indicate that zebrafish embryos are a useful alternative method for traditional teratogenicity testing with mammalian species.

Zebrafish teratogenicity test with metabolic activation (mDarT): effects of phase I activation of acetaminophen on zebrafish Danio rerio embryos.

The zebrafish Danio rerio embryo test with metabolic activation (mDarT) was developed to assess the teratogenic effects of proteratogens. In this study induced rat liver microsomes (RLM) were used as a mammalian metabolic activation system (MAS), since they contain various cytochrome P450 (CYP) isoforms at high concentrations. Acetaminophen (APAP) is considered not to be teratogenic in vivo, however, in vitro teratogenic effects were observed, e.g. in rat whole embryo culture. The CYP2E1 activation of APAP to the reactive metabolite N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI) mainly occurs, when the glucuronidation and sulfatation pathways are saturated. In vivo the soft electrophile NAPQI is usually inactivated by hepatic reduced glutathione (GSH), a soft nucleophile. In this study, we investigated the teratogenic and lethal effects of APAP after CYP activation in zebrafish embryos. In the test groups with APAP and metabolic activation 11.7+/-7.6% (2mM), 25.0+/-8.7% (4mM) and 50.0+/-21.8% (6mM) affected embryos were seen, reaching statistical significance at 4mM APAP. When embryos were exposed to 6mM APAP, MAS and 3mM GSH the percentage of affected embryos decreased to 6.7+/-5.8%. In contrast teratogenic and lethal effects of metabolically activated cyclophosphamide (CPA) could not be prevented by GSH addition, because the CPA metabolites are strong electrophiles, which preferentially bind to hard nucleophiles like DNA and RNA. The teratogenic and lethal effects of metabolically activated APAP observed in zebrafish embryos with our mDarT standard protocol could be explained by the lack of GSH as a detoxifying system. By adding GSH it was possible to mimic the situation in mammals and thus avoid teratogenic effects in zebrafish embryos.

Development of a new screening assay to identify proteratogenic substances using zebrafish danio rerio embryo combined with an exogenous mammalian metabolic activation system (mDarT).

The assessment of teratogenic effects of chemicals is generally performed using in vivo teratogenicity assays, for example, in rats or rabbits. We have developed an in vitro teratogenicity assay using the zebrafish Danio rerio embryo combined with an exogenous mammalian metabolic activation system (MAS), able to biotransform proteratogenic compounds. Cyclophosphamide (CPA) and ethanol were used as proteratogens to test the efficiency of this assay. Briefly, the zebrafish embryos were cocultured at 2 hpf (hours postfertilization) with the test material at varying concentrations, induced male rat liver microsomes and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (reduced) for 60 min at 32 degrees C under moderate agitation in Tris-buffer. The negative control (test material alone) and the MAS control (MAS alone) were incubated in parallel. For each test group, 20 eggs were used for statistical robustness. Afterward fish embryos were transferred individually into 24-well plates filled with fish medium for 48 h at 26 degrees C with a 12-h light cycle. Teratogenicity was scored after 24 and 48 hpf using morphological endpoints. No teratogenic effects were observed in fish embryos exposed to the proteratogens alone, that is, without metabolic activation. In contrast, CPA and ethanol induced abnormalities in fish embryos when coincubated with microsomes. The severity of malformations increased with increasing concentrations of the proteratogens. We conclude that the application of microsomes will improve and refine the D. rerio teratogenicity assay as a predictive and valuable alternative method to screen teratogenic substances.

Toxicokinetics and biotransformation of 3-(4-methylbenzylidene)camphor in rats after oral administration.

3-(4-Methylbenzylidene)camphor (4-MBC) is an UV-filter frequently used in sunscreens and cosmetics. Equivocal findings in some screening tests for hormonal activity initiated a discussion on a possible weak estrogenicity of 4-MBC. In this study, the toxicokinetics and biotransformation of 4-MBC were characterized in rats after oral administration. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 3 per group) were administered single oral doses of 25 or 250 mg/kg bw of 4-MBC in corn oil. Metabolites formed were characterized and the kinetics of elimination for 4-MBC and its metabolites from blood and with urine were determined. Metabolites of 4-MBC were characterized by (1)H NMR and LC-MS/MS as 3-(4-carboxybenzylidene)camphor and as four isomers of 3-(4-carboxybenzylidene)hydroxycamphor containing the hydroxyl group located in the camphor ring system with 3-(4-carboxybenzylidene)-6-hydroxycamphor as the major metabolite. After oral administration of 4-MBC, only very low concentrations of 4-MBC were present in blood and the peak concentrations of 3-(4-carboxybenzylidene)camphor were approximately 500-fold above those of 4-MBC; blood concentrations of 3-(4-carboxybenzylidene)-6-hydroxycamphor were below the limit of detection. Blood concentration of 4-MBC and 3-(4-carboxybenzylidene)camphor peaked within 10 h after 4-MBC administration and then decreased with half-lives of approximately 15 h. No major differences in peak blood levels between male and female rats were seen. In urine, one isomer of 3-(4-carboxybenzylidene)hydroxycamphor was the predominant metabolite [3-(4-carboxybenzylidene)-6-hydroxycamphor], the other isomers and 3-(4-carboxybenzylidene)camphor were only minor metabolites excreted with urine. However, urinary excretion of 4-MBC-metabolites represents only a minor pathway of elimination for 4-MBC, since most of the applied dose was recovered in feces as 3-(4-carboxybenzylidene)camphor and, to a smaller extent, as 3-(4-carboxybenzylidene)-6-hydroxycamphor. Glucuronides of both metabolites were also present in feces, but partly decomposed during sample workup and were thus not quantified. The results show that absorbed 4-MBC undergoes extensive first-pass biotransformation in rat liver resulting in very low blood levels of the parent 4-MBC. Enterohepatic circulation of glucuronides derived from the two major 4-MBC metabolites may explain the slow excretion of 4-MBC metabolites with urine and the small percentage of the administered doses recovered in urine.

Kinetics of 3-(4-methylbenzylidene)camphor in rats and humans after dermal application.

The toxicokinetics of 4-MBC after dermal administration were investigated in human subjects and in rats. Humans (3 male and 3 female subjects) were exposed to 4-MBC by topical application of a commercial sunscreen formulation containing 4% 4-MBC (w/w), covering 90% of the body surface and resulting in a mean dermal 4-MBC dose of 22 mg/kg bw. In rats, dermal 4-MBC doses of 400 and 2000 mg/kg bw were applied in a formulation using an occlusive patch for 24 h. Concentrations of 4-MBC and its metabolites were monitored over 96 h in plasma (rats and humans) and urine (humans). In human subjects, plasma levels of 4-MBC peaked at 200 pmol/ml in males and 100 pmol/ml in females 6 h after application and then decreased to reach the limit of detection after 24 h (females), respectively, 36 h (males). After dermal application of 4-MBC, peak plasma concentrations of 3-(4-carboxybenzylidene)-6-hydroxycamphor were 50-80 pmol/ml at 12 h and of 3-(4-carboxybenzylidene)camphor were 100-200 pmol/ml at 24 h. In male and female rats, peak plasma levels of 4-MBC were 200 (dose of 400 mg/kg bw) and 1 200 pmol/ml (dose of 2000 mg/kg bw). These levels remained constant for up to 24-48 h after dermal application. Peak plasma concentrations of 3-(4-carboxybenzylidene)-6-hydroxycamphor were 18,000 pmol/ml (males) and of 3-(4-carboxybenzylidene)camphor were 55,000 pmol/ml (females) between 48 and 72 h after application of the high dose of 4-MBC. In human subjects, only a small percentage of the dermally applied dose of 4-MBC was recovered in the form of metabolites in urine, partly as glucuronides. The obtained results suggest a more intensive biotransformation of 4-MBC in rats as compared to humans after dermal application and a poor absorption of 4-MBC through human skin.