In vitro neurotoxicity evaluation of natural and synthetic chemicals and mixtures

Growing evidence indicates that the functionality of our Nervous System can be compromised by exposure to different chemicals, including drugs, pesticides or biotoxins, with which we can come into contact every day. In addition to these, the presence on the market of new psychoactive substances of natural origin is increasingly frequent, with not entirely known pharmacological and toxicological characteristics. The current international regulatory guidelines provide for the evaluation of neurotoxicity exclusively through in vivo methods that are expensive, little sensitive and unsuitable for the evaluation of a large number of substances (e.g. OECD TG n.418). Alternative approaches, such as in vitro electrophysiology based on microelectrode arrays (MEA), can accelerate the evaluation process of neurotoxicity, reducing the use of animals.
This method allows early identification of potential undesirable neuroactive effects with the following advantages: i) it is a specific method, since it allows to evaluate the real neuronal endpoints (i.e. spontaneous electric activity); ii) it is versatile, allowing to compare the effect on neuronal cultures coming from different districts of the Central and Peripheral Nervous System; iii) it is very sensitive and fast; iii) allows the screening of several substances simultaneously (middle-throughput system); iv) is an in vitro method, i.e. it allows to perform a high number of tests, drastically reducing the number of animals used and the related costs.

Members:
Bruno Burlando
Mario Nobile