Laboratory grown human cells can provide a feasible alternative to animal testing, researchers from Lund University, Sweden reported in BMC Genomics. As European legislation, and laws in many other countries restrict animal testing by pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies, scientists have been looking for reliable and effective alternatives.
Laboratory grown human cells can be utilized to classify chemicals as non-sensitizing or sensitizing, and even predict how strong the allergic response is, the authors explain.
A patient with allergic contact dermatitis typically experiences eczema and/or itching. It is usually caused by frequent exposure to chemicals, such as detergents, cosmetics, soaps or machine oil either in the workplace or elsewhere.
The sufferer can experience persistent symptoms unless the source of the sensitizing chemical is identified.
In Europe, the 2009, 7th Amendment to the Cosmetic Directive does not allow cosmetic products and their ingredients to be tested on animals, making it virtually impossible to make sure a new product is hypoallergenic.
In this study, Professor Carl AK Borrebaeck and team utilized genome-wide profiling to gauge the response of a human myeloid leukemia cell line to some chemicals. They eventually defined a “biomarker signature” of 200 genes which could discriminate between non-sensitizing and sensitizing chemicals accurately. They compared this signature with what is already known about these chemicals and were able to accurately predict sensitizing potency.
Prof Borrebaeck said:
“REACH (Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals) regulation requires that all new and existing chemicals within the European Union are tested for safety. The number of chemicals this includes is over 30,000 and is increasing all the time.
Our lab-based alternative to animal testing, although in an early stage of production, is faster, out-performs present alternatives, and, because the cells are human in origin, is more relevant. It provides a way of ensuring the continued safety of consumers and users and, by identifying chemicals and products with low immunogenicity, reducing the suffering due to eczema.”
Written by Christian Nordqvist