New approach methodologies (NAMs): identifying and overcoming hurdles to accelerated adoption.

New approach methodologies (NAMs) can deliver improved chemical safety assessment through the provision of more protective and/or relevant models that have a reduced reliance on animals. Despite the widely acknowledged benefits offered by NAMs, there continue to be barriers that prevent or limit their application for decision-making in chemical safety assessment. These include barriers related to real and perceived scientific, technical, legislative and economic issues, as well as cultural and societal obstacles that may relate to inertia, familiarity, and comfort with established methods, and perceptions around regulatory expectations and acceptance. This article focuses on chemical safety science, exposure, hazard, and risk assessment, and explores the nature of these barriers and how they can be overcome to drive the wider exploitation and acceptance of NAMs. Short-, mid- and longer-term goals are outlined that embrace the opportunities provided by NAMs to deliver improved protection of human health and environmental security as part of a new paradigm that incorporates exposure science and a culture that promotes the use of protective toxicological risk assessments.

Evolutionary expansion and anatomical specialization of synapse proteome complexity.

Understanding the origins and evolution of synapses may provide insight into species diversity and the organization of the brain. Using comparative proteomics and genomics, we examined the evolution of the postsynaptic density (PSD) and membrane-associated guanylate kinase (MAGUK)-associated signaling complexes (MASCs) that underlie learning and memory. PSD and MASC orthologs found in yeast carry out basic cellular functions to regulate protein synthesis and structural plasticity. We observed marked changes in signaling complexity at the yeast-metazoan and invertebrate-vertebrate boundaries, with an expansion of key synaptic components, notably receptors, adhesion/cytoskeletal proteins and scaffold proteins. A proteomic comparison of Drosophila and mouse MASCs revealed species-specific adaptation with greater signaling complexity in mouse. Although synaptic components were conserved amongst diverse vertebrate species, mapping mRNA and protein expression in the mouse brain showed that vertebrate-specific components preferentially contributed to differences between brain regions. We propose that the evolution of synapse complexity around a core proto-synapse has contributed to invertebrate-vertebrate differences and to brain specialization.

Automated recording of home cage activity and temperature of individual rats housed in social groups: The Rodent Big Brother project.

Measuring the activity and temperature of rats is commonly required in biomedical research. Conventional approaches necessitate single housing, which affects their behavior and wellbeing. We have used a subcutaneous radiofrequency identification (RFID) transponder to measure ambulatory activity and temperature of individual rats when group-housed in conventional, rack-mounted home cages. The transponder location and temperature is detected by a matrix of antennae in a baseplate under the cage. An infrared high-definition camera acquires side-view video of the cage and also enables automated detection of vertical activity. Validation studies showed that baseplate-derived ambulatory activity correlated well with manual tracking and with side-view whole-cage video pixel movement. This technology enables individual behavioral and temperature data to be acquired continuously from group-housed rats in their familiar, home cage environment. We demonstrate its ability to reliably detect naturally occurring behavioral effects, extending beyond the capabilities of routine observational tests and conventional monitoring equipment. It has numerous potential applications including safety pharmacology, toxicology, circadian biology, disease models and drug discovery.

Neurone specific regulation of dendritic spines in vivo by post synaptic density 95 protein (PSD-95).

Post synaptic density protein 95 (PSD-95) is a postsynaptic adaptor protein coupling the NMDA receptor to downstream signalling pathways underlying plasticity. Mice carrying a targeted gene mutation of PSD-95 show altered behavioural plasticity including spatial learning, neuropathic pain, orientation preference in visual cortical cells, and cocaine sensitisation. These behavioural effects are accompanied by changes in long-term potentiation of synaptic transmission. In vitro studies of PSD-95 signalling indicate that it may play a role in regulating dendritic spine structure. Here, we show that PSD-95 mutant mice have alterations in dendritic spine density in the striatum (a 15% decrease along the dendritic length) and in the hippocampus (a localised 40% increase) without changes in dendritic branch patterns or gross neuronal architecture. These changes in spine density were accompanied by altered expression of proteins known to interact with PSD-95, including NR2B and SAP102, suggesting that PSD-95 plays a role in regulating the expression and activation of proteins found within the NMDA receptor complex. Thus, PSD-95 is an important regulator of neuronal structure as well as plasticity in vivo.

Incidence of sudden cardiac arrest is higher in areas of low socioeconomic status: a prospective two year study in a large United States community.

BACKGROUND: A potential effect of socioeconomic status on occurrence of sudden cardiac arrest in the community is likely, but has not been evaluated fully. METHODS: All cases of sudden cardiac arrest in Multnomah County Oregon (population 660,486; February 2002-January 2004) were identified prospectively and categorized by census tract based on the address of residence and specific geographic location of occurrence of cardiac arrest. Each census tract was assigned to quartiles of median income, poverty level, median home value, and educational attainment. RESULTS: Of 714 cases (annual incidence 54 per 100,000), 697 (98%) had residential addresses that matched a county census tract successfully. For each socioeconomic status measure, the incidence of cardiac arrest was 30-80% higher in the lowest compared to the highest socioeconomic status census tracts. Annual incidence in census tracts in the lowest compared to the highest quartiles of median home value was 60.5 versus 35.1 per 100,000 (RR 1.7, 95% CI 1.4-2.2). This gradient was exaggerated significantly for age<65 years (34.5 versus 15.1 per 100,000, RR 2.3, 95% CI 1.6-3.3). Identical trends were observed for sudden cardiac arrest based on location, with 60% of all cases and 66% of cases age<65 years occurring in the two quartiles with lowest socioeconomic status. CONCLUSIONS: Low neighborhood socioeconomic status was associated with a significantly higher incidence of sudden cardiac arrest based on address of residence as well as location of cardiac arrest. For effective deployment of strategies for community-based prevention such as the automated external defibrillator, neighborhood socioeconomic status is likely to be an important consideration.

Current burden of sudden cardiac death: multiple source surveillance versus retrospective death certificate-based review in a large U.S. community.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine the annual incidence of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in the general population using a prospective approach. To assess the validity of retrospective surveillance, a simultaneous comparison was made with a death certificate-based method of determining SCD incidence. BACKGROUND: Accurate surveillance and characterization of SCD in the general population is likely to significantly facilitate current and future community-based preventive and therapeutic interventions. METHODS: We performed a prospective evaluation of SCD among all residents of Multnomah County, Oregon (population 660,486) using multiple sources of surveillance. A comprehensive analysis of circumstances of death, medical records, and available autopsy data was performed. Comparisons were made with a retrospective, death certificate-based determination of SCD incidence using International Classification of Diseases-Version 10 codes and location of death. RESULTS: Between February 1, 2002, and January 31, 2003, 353 residents suffered SCD (incidence 53 of 100,000; median age 69 years, 57% male) accounting for 5.6% of overall mortality. Of these, 75 cases (21%) were identified using sources other than first responders. Resuscitation was attempted in 237 cases (67%) and successful (survival to hospital discharge) in 28 (8%). The retrospective death certificate-based review yielded 1,007 cases (incidence 153 of 100,000; median age 81 years, 51% male), and the positive predictive value of this methodology was 19%. CONCLUSIONS: Sudden cardiac death accounts for 5.6% of annual mortality, and prospective evaluation in the general population appears to be feasible. The use of multiple sources of ascertainment and information significantly enhances phenotyping of SCD cases. Retrospective death certificate-based surveillance results in significant overestimation of SCD incidence.

Rebuilding a realistic corticostriatal "social network" from dissociated cells.

Many of the methods available for the study of cortical influences on striatal neurons have serious problems. In vivo the connectivity is so complex that the study of input from an individual cortical neuron to a single striatal cell is nearly impossible. Mixed corticostriatal cultures develop many connections from striatal cells to cortical cells, in striking contrast to the fact that only connections from cortical cells to striatal cells are present in vivo. Furthermore, interneuron populations are over-represented in organotypic cultures. For these reasons, we have developed a method for growing cortical and striatal neurons in separated compartments that allows cortical neurons to innervate striatal cells in culture. The method works equally well for acutely dissociated or cryopreserved neurons and allows a number of manipulations that are not otherwise possible. Either cortical or striatal compartments can be transfected with channel rhodopsins. The activity of both areas can be recorded in multielectrode arrays or individual patch recordings from pairs of cells. Finally, corticostriatal connections can be severed acutely. This procedure enables determination of the importance of corticostriatal interaction in the resting pattern of activity. These cultures also facilitate development of sensitive analytical network methods to track connectivity.

The corticostriatal system in dissociated cell culture.

The sparse connectivity within the striatum in vivo makes the investigation of individual corticostriatal synapses very difficult. Most studies of the corticostriatal input have been done using electrical stimulation under conditions where it is hard to identify the precise origin of the cortical input. We have employed an in vitro dissociated cell culture system that allows the identification of individual corticostriatal pairs and have been developing methods to study individual neuron inputs to striatal neurons. In mixed corticostriatal cultures, neurons had resting activity similar to the system in vivo. Up/down states were obvious and seemed to encompass the entire culture. Mixed cultures of cortical neurons from transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein with striatal neurons from wild-type mice of the same developmental stage allowed visual identification of individual candidate corticostriatal pairs. Recordings were performed between 12 and 37 days in vitro (DIV). To investigate synaptic connections we recorded from 69 corticostriatal pairs of which 44 were connected in one direction and 25 reciprocally. Of these connections 41 were corticostriatal (nine inhibitory) and 53 striatocortical (all inhibitory). The observed excitatory responses were of variable amplitude (-10 to -370 pA, n = 32). We found the connections very secure - with negligible failures on repeated stimulation (approximately 1 Hz) of the cortical neuron. Inhibitory corticostriatal responses were also observed (-13 to -314 pA, n = 9). Possibly due to the mixed type of culture we found an inhibitory striatocortical response (-14 to -598 pA, n = 53). We are now recording from neurons in separate compartments to more closely emulate neuroanatomical conditions but still with the possibility of the easier identification of the connectivity.

Population-based analysis of sudden cardiac death with and without left ventricular systolic dysfunction: two-year findings from the Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to evaluate the contribution of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction toward occurrence of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in the general population, and to identify distinguishing characteristics of SCD in the absence of LV dysfunction. BACKGROUND: Patients who manifest warning symptoms and signs are more likely to undergo evaluation before SCD. Although prevalence of LV dysfunction in this subgroup may overestimate the prevalence in overall SCD, this is the only means of assessment in the general population. METHODS: All cases of SCD in Multnomah County, Oregon (population 660,486; 2002 to 2004) were prospectively ascertained in the ongoing Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study. We retrospectively assessed LV ejection fraction (LVEF) among subjects who underwent evaluation of LV function before SCD (normal: > or =55%; mildly to moderately reduced: 36% to 54%; and severely reduced: < or =35%). Of a total of 714 SCD cases (annual incidence 54 per 100,000), LV function was assessed in 121 (17%). RESULTS: The LVEF was severely reduced in 36 patients (30%), mildly to moderately reduced in 27 (22%), and normal in 58 (48%). Patients with normal LVEF were distinguishable by younger age (66 +/- 15 years vs. 74 +/- 10 years; p = 0.001), higher proportion of females (47% vs. 27%; p = 0.025), higher prevalence of seizure disorder (14% vs. 0%; p = 0.002), and lower prevalence of established coronary artery disease (50% vs. 81%; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In this community-wide study, only one-third of the evaluated SCD cases had severe LV dysfunction meeting current criteria for prophylactic cardioverter-defibrillator implantation. The SCD cases with normal LV function had several distinguishing clinical characteristics. These findings support the aggressive development of alternative screening methods to enhance identification of patients at risk.

Induction and maintenance of late-phase long-term potentiation in isolated dendrites of rat hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurones.

Expression of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP) in the CA1 region of the hippocampus can be divided into an early (1-2 h), protein synthesis-independent phase and a late (>4 h), protein synthesis-dependent phase. In this study we have addressed whether the de novo protein synthesis required for the expression of late-LTP can be sustained solely from the translation of mRNAs located in the dendrites of CA1 pyramidal neurones. Our results show that late-LTP, lasting at least 5 h, can be maintained in hippocampal slices where the dendrites located in stratum radiatum have been isolated from their cell bodies by a microsurgical cut. The magnitude of the potentiation of the slope of field EPSPs in these 'isolated' slices was similar to that recorded in 'intact' slices. Incubation of the slices with the mRNA translation inhibitor cycloheximide or the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor rapamycin blocked late-LTP in both 'intact' and 'isolated' slice preparations. In contrast, incubation of slices with the transcription inhibitor, actinomycin D, resulted in a reduction of sustained potentiation, at 4 h, in 'intact' slices while in 'isolated' slices the magnitude of potentiation was similar to that seen in untreated slices. These results indicate that late-LTP can be induced and maintained in 'isolated' dendritic preparations via translation of pre-existing mRNAs.