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High throughput screening and environmental risk assessment: State of the science and emerging applications
Citation:
Villeneuve, Dan, K. Coady, B. Escher, E. Mahaich, C. Murphy, T. Schlekat, AND N. Garcia-Reyero. High throughput screening and environmental risk assessment: State of the science and emerging applications. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY. Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Pensacola, FL, 38(1):12-16, (2019). https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.4315
Impact/Purpose:
The US EPA’s Chemical Safety for Sustainability program has been engaged in research and development aimed at transforming the approach to regulatory toxicity testing from a paradigm based on animal testing to one more heavily reliant on high throughput screening (HTS) assays and predictive models. The current paper summarizes results of a Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) that was focused on examining HTS and its applications in environmental risk assessment. The paper identifies a number of major achievements with regard to implementation of a vision for toxicity testing in the 21st century, but also notes the current lack of uptake into risk assessment processes. Some of the remaining barriers to uptake and application of HTS data are identified and opportunities for both the scientific and science policy and coordination communities to have an impactful role in advancing the 21st century vision for chemical safety assessment are identified. The challenges and opportunities identified in this paper directly inform on-going development of the CSS Strategic Research Action Plan and associated research moving forward.
Description:
The current paper reflects a summary and proceedings of the SETAC sponsored focused topic meeting on High Throughput Screening and Environmental Risk Assessment (hts.setac.org) that was held 16-18 April, 2018. Over 100 participants from academia, government, industry, and other sectors contributed to presentations, demonstrations, and discussions centered around the topic. The event provided an opportunity to take stock of the progress that has been made, as well as the challenges that remain with regard to implementation of the National Research Council vision for toxicity testing in the 21st century and broadening its scope to encompass a full range of environmental risk assessment contexts.In 2007 the US National Research Council (NRC) published a vision for toxicity testing in the 21st century that emphasized the use of in vitro high throughput screening (HTS) methods and predictive models as an alternative to in vivo animal testing. Here we examine the state of the science of HTS and progress that has been made in implementing and expanding on the NRC vision, as well as challenges to implementation that remain. Overall, significant progress has been made with regard to the availability of HTS data, aggregation of chemical property and toxicity information into on-line databases, and the development of various models and frameworks to support extrapolation of HTS data. However, HTS data and associated predictive models have not yet been widely applied in risk assessment. Major barriers include the disconnect between the endpoints measured in HTS assays and the assessment endpoints considered in risk assessments and the rapid pace at which new tools and models are evolving in contrast with the slow pace at which regulatory structures change. Nonetheless, there are opportunities for the SETAC community to take an impactful role in the on-going development and implementation of the NRC vision. Six specific areas for scientific and/or coordination and policy engagement are identified.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: High throughput screening and environmental risk assessment: State of the science and emerging applications