You are here:
Role of Metabolomics in Environmental Chemical Exposure and Risk Assessment
Citation:
EKMAN, D. R. Role of Metabolomics in Environmental Chemical Exposure and Risk Assessment. Presented at Metabolomics in Toxicological and Pre Clinical Research, Berlin, GERMANY, February 13 - 15, 2012.
Impact/Purpose:
See description.
Description:
The increasing demand for the reduction, replacement, and refinement of the use of animal models in exposure assessments has stimulated the pursuit of alternative methods. This has included not only the use of the in vitro systems (e.g., cell cultures) in lieu of in vivo whole animal exposures, but also the use of ‘omics-based methods for assessing the impact(s) of exposure(s). These approaches provide researchers with a wealth of molecular information for determining impacts of exposure to environmental stressors. Moreover, advances in high-throughput methods for analyses are making these techniques useful for assessing large numbers of biological samples at continually decreasing costs. Among the most promising of these ‘omics-based’ approaches is the rapidly advancing field of metabolomics. Due to the dynamic nature of biochemical pathways, tracking changes in endogenous metabolites can provide meaningful insights regarding the duration, frequency, and concentration of chemical exposures. For example, predications of chemical occurrence based on fate and transport modeling can be investigated with metabolomics even for chemicals that cannot be detected analytically due to chemical degradation or high detection limits. In addition, this information can be obtained in a relatively non invasive manner as metabolomics analyses are amenable to nonlethal sampling via bio fluids such as blood and urine. As a result, metabolomics can be used to reconstruct environmental exposures with minimal animal use/suffering. The current presentation will expand on these points focusing on the potential use of metabolomics as an alternative test method for assessing environmental exposures.
