Use of In Vitro Morphogenesis of Mouse Embryoid Bodies to Assess Developmental Toxicity of Therapeutic Drugs Contraindicated in Pregnancy.

In utero exposure to certain chemicals can impair embryo development, causing embryonic death, growth retardation, or severe birth defects. Establishment of effective in vitro tests is crucial for identifying developmental toxicants and for reducing the financial and ethical burden of animal-based tests. Previously, we created an in vitro morphogenesis model using pluripotent P19C5 mouse embryonal carcinoma stem cells that mimics the process of gastrulation and axial body elongation of embryos. Because many birth defects are caused by dysregulation of cellular behaviors during embryogenesis, the morphogenesis model may serve as a unique tool to investigate the impacts of developmental toxicants. The aim of this study is to evaluate the applicability and limitations of the model using 20 therapeutic drugs, 16 of which are contraindicated in pregnancy and 4 are considered safe. P19C5 embryoid bodies (EBs) were exposed to different concentrations of drugs during 4 days of 3-dimensional culture. The treatment effects on growth and morphogenesis were analyzed using morphometric measurements of EB size and shape, respectively. Viability assays of P19C5 cells and NIH/3T3 fibroblasts were used to determine the drug concentrations that caused general cytotoxicity and those that selectively diminished P19C5 proliferation relative to NIH/3T3 proliferation. Thirteen contraindicated drugs diminished P19C5 cell proliferation, reduced EB growth, or altered morphogenesis at concentrations below generally cytotoxic levels. Two safe drugs also exhibited these impacts at the highest concentration tested. Although additional validation studies are required, this study introduces morphogenesis-based stem cell models as potentially effective in vitro tools for developmental toxicity research.

Morphology-based mammalian stem cell tests reveal potential developmental toxicity of donepezil.

Various compounds, including therapeutic drugs, can adversely impact the survival and development of embryos in the uterus. Identification of such development-interfering agents is a challenging task, although multi-angle approaches--including the use of in vitro toxicology studies involving embryonic stem cells--should alleviate some of the current difficulties. In the present study, we utilized the in vitro elongation of embryoid bodies (EBs) derived from mouse embryonal carcinoma stem cell line P19C5 as a model of early embryological events, specifically that of gastrulation and axial patterning. From our study, we identified donepezil, a medication indicated for the management of Alzheimer's disease, as a potential developmental toxicant. The extent of P19C5 EB axial elongation was diminished by donepezil in a dose-dependent manner. Although donepezil is a known inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase, interference of elongation was not mediated through this enzyme. Quantitative reverse-transcriptase PCR revealed that donepezil altered the expression pattern of a specific set of developmental regulator genes involved in patterning along the anterior-posterior body axis. When tested in mouse whole embryo culture, donepezil caused morphological abnormalities including impaired somitogenesis. Donepezil also diminished elongation morphogenesis of EBs generated from human embryonic stem cells. These results suggest that donepezil interferes with axial elongation morphogenesis of early embryos by altering the expression pattern of regulators of axial development.