Comparative case study on NAMs: towards enhancing specific target organ toxicity analysis

Traditional risk assessment methodologies in toxicology have relied upon animal testing, despite concerns regarding interspecies consistency, reproducibility, costs, and ethics. New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), including cell culture and multi-level omics analyses, hold promise by providing mechanistic information rather than assessing organ pathology. However, NAMs face limitations, like lacking a whole organism and restricted toxicokinetic interactions. This is an inherent challenge when it comes to the use of omics data from in vitro studies for the prediction of organ toxicity in vivo. One solution in this context are comparative in vitro–in vivo studies as they allow for a more detailed assessment of the transferability of the respective NAM data. Hence, hepatotoxic and nephrotoxic pesticide active substances were tested in human cell lines and the results subsequently related to the biology underlying established effects in vivo. To this end, substances were tested in HepaRG and RPTEC/tERT1 cells at non-cytotoxic concentrations and analyzed for effects on the transcriptome and parts of the proteome using quantitative real-time PCR arrays and multiplexed microsphere-based sandwich immunoassays, respectively. Transcriptomics data were analyzed using three bioinformatics tools. Where possible, in vitro endpoints were connected to in vivo observations. Targeted protein analysis revealed various affected pathways, with generally fewer effects present in RPTEC/tERT1. The strongest transcriptional impact was observed for Chlorotoluron in HepaRG cells (increased CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 expression). A comprehensive comparison of early cellular responses with data from in vivo studies revealed that transcriptomics outperformed targeted protein analysis, correctly predicting up to 50% of in vivo effects.