[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6813\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ELab-grown tissues to improve reliability of safety tests for drugs, chemicals\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETissues such as the intestine and liver typically take up and degrade pharmaceutically active compounds, or inactivate them. But before the efficacy of drugs can be tested in humans, scientists must assess whether they are safe for human consumption, which is largely determined by toxicity studies in lab animals such as mice and monkeys.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEthical issues aside, this is a somewhat flawed system as many drugs-in-development have proved safe in animals only to fail in human trials.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers associated with the TOXANOID project are evaluating whether a 3D-culture system that allows for the expansion of stem cells from the intestine and liver into so-called organoids \u2013 structures grown in a lab that largely mimic the functions of their respective tissues \u2013 can be used to reduce the dependence on animal-based toxicity studies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Any in-vitro assay (laboratory test) is always a reductionist assay \u2026 we\u0027re looking at the intestines and the liver but the interconnections and interplay between organs is something that is very difficult to test in an in-vitro set up,\u2019 said Dr Helmuth Gehart of the Hubrecht Institute in the Netherlands, who manages the activities of the TOXANOID project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Nevertheless, we strongly believe that by using these kind of assays in human cells, the need for testing in animals could be greatly reduced.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe TOXANOID project, which will be completed later this year, is an offshoot of a parallel project called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/horizon-magazine.eu\/article\/have-courage-move-outside-your-comfort-zone-prof-hans-clevers_en.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EORGANOID\u003C\/a\u003E, which developed this culture system. Currently, the researchers are testing whether their approach supersedes those currently used for in-vitro drug and chemical testing, namely cell lines and primary cells.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EProliferate\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECell lines, which are laboratory-grown cultures of cells that are derived from one original cell, are advantageous because they can proliferate indefinitely in the right environment. However, they are derived from cancerous tissue and eventually do not resemble healthy tissue, leaving open questions of how well results will transfer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPrimary cells, on the other hand, are\u0026nbsp;cells\u0026nbsp;taken directly from living tissue, but conversely are harder to acquire because they must come from healthy donors, which can be ethically questionable and expensive. Moreover, since these cells are short-lived, researchers also inevitably end up having to return to donors for more, leaving their sample subject to batch-to-batch variability.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018In principle we combine the best of both worlds in our organoid approach,\u2019 said Dr Gehart, adding that if successful, their approach could reach industry partners in as quickly as two years.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u0026#039;We strongly believe that by using these kind of assays in human cells, the need for testing in animals could be greatly reduced.\u0026#039;\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Helmuth Gehart, Hubrecht Institute, Netherlands\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother approach to bypass the use of animal testing - which has been banned in the EU cosmetic industry since 2013 - is the use of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) for toxicity testing. This technology, pioneered in a Japanese lab in 2006, allows for mature human cells to be reprogrammed such that they can self-renew indefinitely and give rise to every other cell type in the body, a competence previously limited to embryonic cells.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe in3 project aims to differentiate hiPSCs from the same genetic background into tissues including the brain, lung, liver and kidney, and expose them to several chemical compounds. The data generated will be used to develop safety assessment approaches by integrating biological and computational methods.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Once the induced pluripotent cells have been generated we can expand the cell numbers, thus creating a virtually unlimited source of the donor\u2019s cells with their unique genetic code,\u2019 said Professor Paul Jennings, coordinator of in3. \u2018These cells can then be differentiated into different cell and tissue types.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPrediction\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe proof-of-concept study, which will be completed by 2020, is focused on developing testable prediction models, by incorporating information about how the test chemical likely gets around the body and is absorbed and eliminated, which tissues are more involved in its toxicity and which biological pathways are disturbed or activated upon exposure.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThen, computational techniques can be used to \u2018link all the data from the different tissues into a virtual human subject,\u2019 said Prof. Jennings, who also leads the molecular and computational toxicology division at the chemical and pharmaceutical department of VU Amsterdam in the Netherlands.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Jennings cautioned the project was fairly early in the scientific process.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAdoption of non-animal methods in any industry will depend on whether there\u2019s an uptake by regulators, he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I think the science is catching up quickly, but we still need to do a better job in interacting with our regulatory colleagues.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe research in this article was funded by the EU. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022moreinfoblock\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3\u003EThe Issue\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EIt is already illegal for companies to sell cosmetic products such as make-up, shampoo and soaps that have been tested on animals. Now the challenge is to create alternative testing approaches for other products such as pharmaceuticals and chemicals.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe EU is working with companies to help replace, reduce and refine animal use in regulatory testing, an approach known as the 3Rs. The \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/growth\/sectors\/chemicals\/epaa_en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EEuropean Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing\u003C\/a\u003E is a collaboration between the EU, trade associations and companies from seven industry sectors, to develop alternatives approaches.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe EU\u2019s in-house research service, the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/jrc\/en\/research-topic\/alternatives-animal-testing-and-safety-assessment-chemicals\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EJoint Research Centre\u003C\/a\u003E, is also helping to develop new safety prediction models for chemicals by combining lab-based tests with computational modelling.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/bit.ly\/newsalertsignup\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cimg class src=\u0022https:\/\/horizon-magazine.eu\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/news-alert-final.jpg\u0022 alt width=\u0022983\u0022 height=\u0022222\u0022\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-x5ynpxibcdxfb1hyhaigpcmxfgmi6d-ucqd60xleams\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-x5ynpXibcDxFB1hYhAiGpCMXfGMi6D_Ucqd60XLEaMs\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]