Toxicology Assay Kits

Xenobiotic-induced liver injury is a major cause of human morbidity and mortality. A key reason for this problem is our inability to predict hepatotoxicity at the preclinical stage using currently available model systems. Such models include in vivo animal models and in vitro models based on human-derived liver cells or transformed cell systems. Species differences in xenobiotic disposition and mechanisms of cytotoxicity can make whole animal studies unreliable for extrapolation to humans. In addition, whole animal models are costly and of low throughput. Therefore, it is essential to develop in vitro models that are more predictive of hepatotoxicity, particularly those that are based on human or "humanized" component cells.

There are two major limitations to the use of human liver cells or their derivatives. First, there are currently limited sources of fresh human hepatocytes worldwide and, when available, they often suffer from low viability and high batch-to-batch variability. Second, the freezing process used to preserve primary hepatocytes and the transformation process needed to make stable and proliferating cell lines results in changes in cell differentiation, proliferation, and metabolic processes.

INDIGO's in vitro toxicology platform was developed to meet the increasing demand for more predictive models for liver toxicity due to the fact that hepatotoxicity remains a major reason for drug withdrawal from pharmaceutical development and clinical use. Consequently, the use of hepatocytes for the early identification of drug candidates that induce acute hepatotoxicity provides a powerful predictive tool that can inform drug development decisions.

Application of this platform is to screen chemicals for induction and activity of hepatic drug metabolizing enzymes (DME), which have been linked to Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Steatosis, Cholestasis and other conditions.

The platform now utilizes upcyte^® human liver cells to assess chemical and drug-induced toxicity.