The Carcinogenome Project: In Vitro Gene Expression Profiling of Chemical Perturbations to Predict Long-Term Carcinogenicity.

BACKGROUND: Most chemicals in commerce have not been evaluated for their carcinogenic potential. The de facto gold-standard approach to carcinogen testing adopts the 2-y rodent bioassay, a time-consuming and costly procedure. High-throughput in vitro assays are a promising alternative for addressing the limitations in carcinogen screening. OBJECTIVES: We developed a screening process for predicting chemical carcinogenicity and genotoxicity and characterizing modes of actions (MoAs) using in vitro gene expression assays. METHODS: We generated a large toxicogenomics resource comprising [Formula: see text] expression profiles corresponding to 330 chemicals profiled in HepG2 (human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line) at multiple doses and replicates. Predictive models of carcinogenicity and genotoxicity were built using a random forest classifier. Differential pathway enrichment analysis was performed to identify pathways associated with carcinogen exposure. Signatures of carcinogenicity and genotoxicity were compared with external sources, including Drugmatrix and the Connectivity Map. RESULTS: Among profiles with sufficient bioactivity, our classifiers achieved 72.2% Area Under the ROC Curve (AUC) for predicting carcinogenicity and 82.3% AUC for predicting genotoxicity. Chemical bioactivity, as measured by the strength and reproducibility of the transcriptional response, was not significantly associated with long-term carcinogenicity in doses up to [Formula: see text]. However, sufficient bioactivity was necessary for a chemical to be used for prediction of carcinogenicity. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed pathways consistent with known pathways that drive cancer, including DNA damage and repair. The data is available at https://clue.io/CRCGN_ABC , and a portal for query and visualization of the results is accessible at https://carcinogenome.org . DISCUSSION: We demonstrated an in vitro screening approach using gene expression profiling to predict carcinogenicity and infer MoAs of chemical perturbations. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP3986.

Miniaturization of cytotoxicity tests for concentration range-finding studies prior to conducting the pH 6.7 Syrian hamster embryo cell-transformation assay.

The Syrian hamster embryo (SHE) cell-transformation assay (SHE assay) is a promising alternative method to animal testing for the identification of potential carcinogens in vitro. Prior to conducting the SHE assay the appropriate concentration range for each test chemical must be established, with a maximum concentration causing approximately 50% cytotoxicity. Concentration range-finding is done in separate experiments, which are similar to the final SHE assay but with less replicates and more concentrations. Here we present an alternative for the cytotoxicity testing by miniaturization of the test procedure by use of 24-well plates and surpluses from feeder-cell preparations as target cells. In addition, we integrated the photometry-based neutral red (NR) assay. For validation of the assay, incubations with dimethyl sulf-oxide, p-phenylenediamine-2HCl, aniline, o-toluidine-HCl, 2,4-diaminotoluene, and 2-naphthylamine were carried out in the miniaturized approach and compared with the standard procedure in terms of calculating the relative plating efficiencies (RPEs). To directly compare both methods, concentrations that produced 50% cytotoxicity (IC50) were calculated. Excellent associations were observed between the number of colonies and NR uptake. For all test substances a concentration-dependent, concomitant decrease of NR uptake in the miniaturized approach and RPEs in the standard test was observed after a 7-day incubation. The results from both test setups showed a comparable order of magnitude and the IC50 values differed by a factor <2 (1.4-1.9), depending on the substance in question. Overall, the miniaturized approach should be considered an improved alternative for cytotoxicity testing in the SHE assay, as it saves valuable SHE cells and speeds-up the time, to obtain test results more rapidly.

Revisión de la literatura sobre la toxicidad del sen / No disponible

El objetivo de este artículo es revisar la información de la literatura científica sobre la toxicidad de la hoja y el fruto de sen. Este análisis establece que: -No existen evidencias suficientes de que el uso crónico de sen tenga como consecuencia una alteración estructural y/o funcional de los nervios entéricos o del músculo liso intestinal. -No existe relación entre la administración a largo plazo de un extracto de sen y aparición de tumor es gastrointestinales o de otra índole en la rata. -El sen no es carcinogénico en ratas incluso después de una administración diaria durante dos años en dosis de hasta 300 mg/kg/día. -La evidencia de que se dispone en la actualidad no demuestra que exista un riesgo de genotoxicidad para los pacientes que consumen laxantes que contienen extractos de sen o senósidos (AU)

The aim of this article is to review the scientific literature about the toxicity of senna leaves and senna pods. This analysis stablish that: - There are not definitive evidences about the effects of the chronic uses of senna on the structural or functional alteration on the enteric nerves or on intestinal smooth muscle. -There is no relation between the long term administration of senna and gastrointestinal or another tumours in rats. - Senna is not carcinogenic on rats even after the daily administration, during two years, at doses of at least 300 mg/kg/day. -Nowadays, the evidences do not confirm the genotoxicity risk on patients consuming laxatives containing senna or sennosides (AU)

Chronic nose-only inhalation study in rats, comparing room-aged sidestream cigarette smoke and diesel engine exhaust.

Nose-only exposure of male and female Wistar rats to a surrogate for environmental tobacco smoke, termed room-aged sidestream smoke (RASS), to diesel engine exhaust (DEE), or to filtered, fresh air (sham) was performed 6 hours/day, 7 days/week for 2 years, followed by a 6-month post-exposure period. The particulate concentrations were 3 and 10 mg/m3. Markers of inflammation in bronchoalveolar lavage showed that DEE (but not RASS) produced a dose-related and persistent inflammatory response. Lung weights were increased markedly in the DEE (but not RASS) groups and did not decrease during the 6-month post-exposure period. Bulky lung DNA adducts increased in the RASS groups, but not in the DEE groups. Cell proliferation in the lungs was unaffected by either experimental treatment. Histopathological responses in the RASS groups were minimal and almost completely reversible; lung tumors were similar in number to those seen in the sham-exposed groups. Rats exposed to DEE showed a panoply of dose-related histopathological responses: largely irreversible and in some cases progressive. Malignant and multiple tumors were seen only in the DEE groups; after 30 months, the tumor incidence (predominantly bronchiolo-alveolar adenomas) was 2% in the sham-exposed groups, 5%in the high RASS groups, and 46% in the high DEE groups (sexes combined). Our results suggest that in rats exposed to DEE, but not to RASS, the following series of events occurs: particle deposition in lungs --> lung "overload" --> pulmonary inflammation --> tumorigenesis, without a significant modifying role of cell proliferation or DNA adduct formation.

32P-postlabeling assay for carcinogen-DNA adducts: description of beta shielding apparatus and semi-automatic spotting and washing devices that facilitate the handling of multiple samples.

The utilization of the 32P-postlabeling assay in combination with TLC for the sensitive detection and estimation of aromatic DNA adducts has been increasing in the past few years. The procedure consists of 32P-labeling of carcinogen-adducted 3'-nucleotides in the DNA digests using [gamma-32P]ATP and polynucleotide kinase, separation of 32P-labeled adducts by TLC, and their detection by autoradiography. During both 32P-labeling and initial phases of TLC, a relatively high amount of [gamma-32P]ATP (3.0-4.5 mCi) is handled when 30 samples are processed simultaneously. We describe the design of acrylic shielding apparatus, semi-automatic TLC spotting devices, and devices for development and washing of multiple TLC plates, which not only provide substantial protection from exposure to 32P beta radiation, but also allow quick and easy handling of a large number of samples, thus expediting the assay workup and making it less labor-intensive. Specifically, the equipment includes: (i) a multi-tube carousel rack (7.5 cm diameter and 7.7 cm height) having 15 wells to hold capless Eppendorf tubes (0.5 ml) and a rotatable lid with an aperture to access individual tubes; (ii) a pipet shielder; (iii) two semi-automatic spotting devices to apply radioactive solutions to TLC plates; (iv) a multi-plate holder for TLC plates; and (v) a mechanical device for washing multiple TLC plates. Item (i) is small enough to be held in one-hand, vortexed, and centrifuged to mix the solutions in each tube while beta radiation is shielded. Items (iii) to (iv) aid in the automation of the assay.