Toxicity Assessment Alternatives: Methods, Issues, Opportunities

Internationally known scientists review what has been accomplished thus far in developing acceptable alternatives to classical animal toxicity assessment methods. Authoritative chapters describe not only the many practical alternative approaches that have recently emerged, but also consider current trends and likely future approaches, as well as emerging automated assessment techniques. Hazard assessment applications and the validation of new alternative methods are also discussed. The methods presented here will help toxicologists, cosmetic chemists, and pharmacologists greatly reduce, refine, or even possibly replace, the use of laboratory animals in their work. Life science researchers will also find many new opportunities for detecting endocrine disruptions. Regulatory officers will gain a new perspective on alternative assessment, environmental assessment, and risk assessment. Significantly extending the efforts of the National Institutes of Health, the European Union, and the ICCVAM, Toxicity Assessment Alternatives offers all those evaluating toxicity today a cutting-edge collection of practical and highly effective alternatives.

The book contains black-and-white illustrations.

Contains a broad array of critical surveys, including two dozen state-of-the-art reports on alternatives to toxicity assessment from internationally respected research scientists and investigators. Will provide current information on recent developments on mechanically-based alternatives, current trends and future projections, hazard assessment applications, and the validation of alternatives. Toxicity Assessment Alternatives provides information from various scientific and regulatory communities on newly achieved and accepted alternatives to animal testing, such as the use of transgenic models that reduce the time and cost of carcinogenicity testing, the use of tissue cultures for the assessment of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and the application of molecular modeling to explain chemical toxicity.

Internationally known scientists review what has been accomplished thus far in developing acceptable alternatives to classical animal toxicity assessment methods. Authoritative chapters describe not only the many practical alternative approaches that have recently emerged, but also consider current trends and likely future approaches, as well as emerging automated assessment techniques. Hazard assessment applications and the validation of new alternative methods are also discussed. The methods presented here will help toxicologists, cosmetic chemists, and pharmacologists greatly reduce, refine, or even possibly replace, the use of laboratory animals in their work. Life science researchers will also find many new opportunities for detecting endocrine disruptions. Regulatory officers will gain a new perspective on alternative assessment, environmental assessment, and risk assessment. Significantly extending the efforts of the National Institutes of Health, the European Union, and the ICCVAM, Toxicity Assessment Alternatives offers all those evaluating toxicity today a cutting-edge collection of practical and highly effective alternatives.

Tim K. Takaro

This book is a compilation of studies utilizing novel short-term assays to assess toxicologic risk. While attempting to cover a broad range of in vitro systems, the major focus is on cell culture of human keratinocytes to elucidate mechanisms involved in the response to sulfur mustard. The purpose is to describe the development and use of short-term toxicological assays that can be applied to risk management. The primary value of these methods is that they can provide alternatives to more expensive and politically sensitive animal testing. In light of the large number of untested materials that can reach the marketplace such alternatives are clearly needed. This book partially meets these objectives with an in-depth evaluation of the complex dermatologic response to sulfur mustard utilizing the in-vitro human keratinocyte system. However, little attention is paid to other novel systems such as assays of mutagenesis and gene expression. This book will be of particular interest to risk assessors and regulators and perhaps entrepreneurs interested in marketing new modalities for testing the adverse effects of their products. It is highly readable for those accustomed to reading scientific studies, many of which are presented in a pithy style. There is essentially no overall summary, and the editors do not attempt to focus the contributions except in the complex dermatologic response to sulfur mustard utilizing the in-vitro human keratinocyte system. In this area there is comprehensive coverage of a number of novel markers that will clearly be of value for risk assessors and investigators of dermatologic toxicants. Alternative risk assessment methods are framed with a description ofthe National Institute of Standards and Technology's advanced technology program as it relates to the improvement of toxicologic assays. The conclusion is, appropriately, a discussion of the regulatory framework in which such assays can be applied and what criteria are used for validation. The first section on recent developments in alternative assays is the most diverse, with descriptions of models of electrical resistance in astrocytes, in vitro hepatic function, moving average interpolation for toxicologic endpoints, and an interesting use of sister chromatid exchange to study combined effects of UV light and chemical exposure. By focusing on the human keratinocyte cell system, the complex response to sulfur mustard provides an excellent case example of the value of these alternative methods, and in this, this book is unique in the field. It would clearly benefit from a broader treatment of short-term assay methods, particularly ones utilizing florescent-based mutation and gene expression. As noted in the beginning of the book, the Human Genome Project and related progress in molecular biology provide nearly endless opportunities for such approaches.

Salem, Harry, PhD (U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command); Katz, Sidney A., PhD (Rutgers Univ)