The Toxicity Testing of Cyanobacterial Toxins In Vivo and In Vitro by Mouse Bioassay: A Review

Author(s):  
Hamed Ahari ◽  
Bahareh ‎ Nowruzi ◽  
Amir Ali Anvar ◽  
Samaneh Jafari Porzani

: Different biological methods based on bioactivity are available to detect cyanotoxins, including neurotoxicity, immunological interactions, hepatotoxicity, cytotoxicity, and enzymatic activity. The mouse bioassay is the first test employed in laboratory cultures, cell extracts, and water bloom materials to detect toxins. It is also used as a traditional method to estimate the LD50. Concerning the ease of access and low cost, it is the most common method for this purpose. In this method, a sample is injected intraperitoneally into adult mice, and accordingly, they are assayed and monitored for about 24 hours for toxic symptoms. The toxin can be detected using this method from minutes to a few hours; its type, e.g., hepatotoxin, neurotoxin, etc., can also be determined. However, this method is nonspecific, fails to detect low amounts, and cannot distinguish between homologues. Although the mouse bioassay is gradually replaced with new chemical and immunological methods, it is still the main technique to detect the bioactivity and efficacy of cyanotoxins using LD50 determined based on the survival time of animals exposed to the toxin. In addition, some countries oppose animal use in toxicity studies. However, high cost, ethical considerations, low-sensitivity, non-specificity, and prolonged processes persuade researchers to employ chemical and functional analysis techniques. The qualitative and quantitative analyses, as well as high specificity and sensitivity, are among the advantages of cytotoxicity tests to investigate cyanotoxins. The present study aimed at reviewing the results obtained from in-vitro and in-vivo investigations of the mouse bioassay to detect cyanotoxins, including microcystins, cylindrospermopsin, saxitoxins, etc.

1979 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Wilner

Measurement of enzymatically-modified fibrinogen, fibrin, or related proteolysie products represent a means whereby the action of several enzymes can be quantiated both in vitro and in vivo. Advances in physicochemical techniques and in immunology over the past decade permit translation of recently acquired primary structural data on fibrinogen and fibrin into sensitive and specific assays for detecting derivatives of these proteins in the circulation. Physicochemical techniques that have been used by various investigators include paracoagulation tests, affinity chromatography, gel permeation chromatography, and electrophoresis. The limitations in specificity and sensitivity of these techniques in detecting circulating fibrin(ogen) derivatives is offset by the technical simplicity of most of these procedures, and perhaps these techniques in combination may ultimately yield useful clinical tests. Immunological tests can, in theory, offer vastly improved specificity and sensitivity as compared with the above mentioned procedures. However, preparation of immune reagents of high specificity is both tedious and difficult, usually requiring multiple adsorbtion steps to harvest the desired antibody population. Our recent studies on the immunochemistry of human fibrinopeptide B suggest that by restricting the size of the immunizing antigen, one can readily obtain antibodies which are relatively. restricted as determined by isoelectric focusing experiments, and which also offer great specificity. The potential for developing new antibody and T cell orobes into workable assays for detecting circulating fibrin(ogen) derivatives remains to be exolored.


Author(s):  
Guang-Cheng Luo ◽  
Jun Zhang ◽  
Mei Yang ◽  
Hongfei He ◽  
Zhen Huang

DNA polymerization is of high specificity in vivo. However, its specificity is much lower in vitro, which limits the advanced applications of DNA polymerization in ultrasensitive nucleic acid detection. Herein...


1981 ◽  
Vol 45 (02) ◽  
pp. 110-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
György Csákó ◽  
Eva A Suba

SummaryPlatelet aggregations were studied by a turbidimetric method in citrated human platelet-rich plasmas (PRP) in vitro. Human Clq inhibited the aggregations caused by collagens derived from different tissues and species. Clq was needed by weight in comparable quantities to collagen for neutralizing the aggregating effect. The dependence of the inhibitory reaction on the preincubation of platelets with Clq and the differences in the occurrence of aggregating substances in supernatants of PRP triggered with collagen in the presence or absence of Clq, confirmed that Clq exerts its effect by preventing fixation of collagen to platelets. In addition, the high specificity of the inhibitory action of Clq for collagen-induced platelet aggregation was demonstrated by results obtained for testing a variety of aggregating agents in combination with Clq and/or collagen.Since normal concentrations of Clq in the blood are in the range of inhibitory doses of Clq for collagen-induced platelet aggregations in vitro and upon activation of complement Clq is known to dissociate from Cl, it is proposed that Clq may participate in a highly specific manner in regulating platelet reactivity to collagen in vivo.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 831-840
Author(s):  
Weibin Li

Sepsis is still a severe health problem worldwide with high morbidity and mortality. Blood bacterial culture remains the gold standard for the detection of pathogenic bacteria in bloodstream infections, but it is time-consuming, and both the sophisticated equipment and well-trained personnel are required. Immunoassays and genetic diagnosis are expensive and limited to specificity and sensitivity. Aptamers are single-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (ssDNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) oligonucleotide or peptide sequence generated in vitro based on the binding affinity of aptamer-target by a process known as Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (SELEX). By taking several advantages over monoclonal antibodies and other conventional small-molecule therapeutics, such as high specificity and affinity, negligible batch-to-batch variation, flexible modification and production, thermal stability, low immunogenicity and lack of toxicity, aptamers are presently becoming promising novel diagnostic and therapeutic agents. This review describes the prospective application of aptamerbased laboratory diagnostic assays and therapeutics for pathogenic bacteria and toxins in bloodstream infections.


1993 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Knut-Jan Andersen ◽  
Erik Ilsø Christensen ◽  
Hogne Vik

The tissue culture of multicellular spheroids from the renal epithelial cell line LLC-PK1 (proximal tubule) is described. This represents a biological system of intermediate complexity between renal tissue in vivo and simple monolayer cultures. The multicellular structures, which show many similarities to kidney tubules in vivo, including a vectorial water transport, should prove useful for studying the potential nephrotoxicity of drugs and chemicals in vitro. In addition, the propagation of renal epithelial cells as multicellular spheroids in serum-free culture may provide information on the release of specific biological parameters, which may be suppressed or masked in serum-supplemented media.


Author(s):  
Danlei Wang ◽  
Maartje H. Rietdijk ◽  
Lenny Kamelia ◽  
Peter J. Boogaard ◽  
Ivonne M. C. M. Rietjens

AbstractDevelopmental toxicity testing is an animal-intensive endpoints in toxicity testing and calls for animal-free alternatives. Previous studies showed the applicability of an in vitro–in silico approach for predicting developmental toxicity of a range of compounds, based on data from the mouse embryonic stem cell test (EST) combined with physiologically based kinetic (PBK) modelling facilitated reverse dosimetry. In the current study, the use of this approach for predicting developmental toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was evaluated, using benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) as a model compound. A rat PBK model of BaP was developed to simulate the kinetics of its main metabolite 3-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene (3-OHBaP), shown previously to be responsible for the developmental toxicity of BaP. Comparison to in vivo kinetic data showed that the model adequately predicted BaP and 3-OHBaP blood concentrations in the rat. Using this PBK model and reverse dosimetry, a concentration–response curve for 3-OHBaP obtained in the EST was translated into an in vivo dose–response curve for developmental toxicity of BaP in rats upon single or repeated dose exposure. The predicted half maximal effect doses (ED50) amounted to 67 and 45 mg/kg bw being comparable to the ED50 derived from the in vivo dose–response data reported for BaP in the literature, of 29 mg/kg bw. The present study provides a proof of principle of applying this in vitro–in silico approach for evaluating developmental toxicity of BaP and may provide a promising strategy for predicting the developmental toxicity of related PAHs, without the need for extensive animal testing.


1995 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-496
Author(s):  
Hanna Tähti ◽  
Leila Vaalavirta ◽  
Tarja Toimela

— There are several hundred industrial chemicals with neurotoxic potential. The neurotoxic risks of most of these chemicals are unknown. Additional methods are needed to assess the risks more effectively and to elucidate the mechanisms of neurotoxicity more accurately than is possible with the conventional methods. This paper deals with general tasks concerning the use of in vitro models in the evaluation of neurotoxic risks. It is based on our previous studies with various in vitro models and on recent literature. The induction of glial fibrillary acidic protein in astrocyte cultures after treatment with known neurotoxicants (mercury compounds and aluminium) is discussed in more detail as an important response which can be detected in vitro. When used appropriately with in vivo tests and with previous toxicological data, in vitro neurotoxicity testing considerably improves risk assessment. The incorporation of in vitro tests into the early stages of risk evaluation can reduce the number of animals used in routine toxicity testing, by identifying chemicals with high neurotoxic potential.


1985 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 554-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
K G Miller ◽  
J Tower ◽  
B Sollner-Webb

To determine the size and location of the mouse rDNA promoter, we constructed systematic series of deletion mutants approaching the initiation site from the 5' and 3' directions. These templates were transcribed in vitro under various conditions with S-100 and whole-cell extracts. Surprisingly, the size of the rDNA region that determines the level of transcription differed markedly, depending on the reaction conditions. In both kinds of cell extracts, the apparent 5' border of the promoter was at residue ca. -27 under optimal transcription conditions, but as reaction conditions became less favorable, the 5' border moved progressively out to residues -35, -39, and -45. The complete promoter, however, extends considerably further, for under other nonoptimal conditions, we observed major effects of promoter domains extending in the 5' direction to positions ca. -100 and -140. In contrast, the apparent 3' border of the mouse rDNA promoter was at residue ca. +9 under all conditions examined. We also show that the subcloned rDNA region from -39 to +9 contains sufficient information to initiate accurately and that the region between +2 and +9 can influence the specificity of initiation. These data indicate that, although the polymerase I transcription factors recognize and accurately initiate with only the sequences downstream of residue -40, sequences extending out to residue -140 greatly favor the initiation reaction; presumably, this entire region is involved in rRNA transcription in vivo.


2012 ◽  
Vol 86 (16) ◽  
pp. 8592-8601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Mahiet ◽  
Ayla Ergani ◽  
Nicolas Huot ◽  
Nicolas Alende ◽  
Ahmed Azough ◽  
...  

Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) is a human pathogen that leads to recurrent facial-oral lesions. Its 152-kb genome is organized in two covalently linked segments, each composed of a unique sequence flanked by inverted repeats. Replication of the HSV-1 genome produces concatemeric molecules in which homologous recombination events occur between the inverted repeats. This mechanism leads to four genome isomers (termed P, IS, IL, and ILS) that differ in the relative orientations of their unique fragments. Molecular combing analysis was performed on DNA extracted from viral particles and BSR, Vero, COS-7, and Neuro-2a cells infected with either strain SC16 or KOS of HSV-1, as well as from tissues of experimentally infected mice. Using fluorescence hybridization, isomers were repeatedly detected and distinguished and were accompanied by a large proportion of noncanonical forms (40%). In both cell and viral-particle extracts, the distributions of the four isomers were statistically equivalent, except for strain KOS grown in Vero and Neuro-2a cells, in which P and IS isomers were significantly overrepresented. In infected cell extracts, concatemeric molecules as long as 10 genome equivalents were detected, among which, strikingly, the isomer distributions were equivalent, suggesting that any such imbalance may occur during encapsidation.In vivo, for strain KOS-infected trigeminal ganglia, an unbalanced distribution distinct from the onein vitrowas observed, along with a considerable proportion of noncanonical assortment.


1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 3694-3704
Author(s):  
C Prives ◽  
Y Murakami ◽  
F G Kern ◽  
W Folk ◽  
C Basilico ◽  
...  

Cell extracts of FM3A mouse cells replicate polyomavirus (Py) DNA in the presence of immunoaffinity-purified Py large T antigen, deoxynucleoside triphosphates, ATP, and an ATP-generating system. This system was used to examine the effects of mutations within or adjacent to the Py core origin (ori) region in vitro. The analysis of plasmid DNAs containing deletions within the early-gene side of the Py core ori indicated that sequences between nucleotides 41 and 57 define the early boundary of Py DNA replication in vitro. This is consistent with previously published studies on the early-region sequence requirements for Py replication in vivo. Deleting portions of the T-antigen high-affinity binding sites A and B (between nucleotides 57 and 146) on the early-gene side of the core ori led to increased levels of replication in vitro and to normal levels of replication in vivo. Point mutations within the core ori region that abolish Py DNA replication in vivo also reduced replication in vitro. A mutant with a reversed orientation of the Py core ori region replicated in vitro, but to a lesser extent that wild-type Py DNA. Plasmids with deletions on the late-gene side of the core ori, within the enhancer region, that either greatly reduced or virtually abolished Py DNA replication in vivo replicated to levels similar to those of wild-type Py DNA plasmids in vitro. Thus, as has been observed with simian virus 40, DNA sequences needed for Py replication in vivo are different from and more stringent than those required in vitro.


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