Table 3 Developmental toxicology endpoints
From: Translational toxicology: a developmental focus for integrated research strategies
Endpoints | Methods of measurement |
|---|---|
General growth, morphology of body regions, organs and tissues | Classical teratology |
Organization of organs & tissues | Microscopic veterinary or human pathology |
Cellular composition of tissues | Relative composition of major cell types; histopathology, histochemistry, histomorphometry |
Finer cellular and tissue profiles | Tissue content of stem cells and progenitor cells; inflammatory/migratory cell populations; extracellular matrix/ cell matrix interactions; assess cell cycle kinetics, critical cellular process (e.g., apoptosis and autophagy) |
Molecular changes within cells | DNA, RNA, proteins (including processing, turnover, etc.), lipids and glycosylation; genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, microRNAs/siRNAs |
"Accessible" or "translatable" (can be used in lab models and in humans) biomarkers | - Imaging (ultrasound, MRI, CT, etc.) |
- Functional assessments (behavior, treadmill, learning, cognition, renal function studies, lung function studies, grip strength, etc.) | |
- Tissue biopsies, male and female gametes/follicular fluid; amniotic fluid; blood, urine | |
- Routine chemistries, hematology, | |
- Circulating cells (e.g., bone marrow stem cells, leukocytes, other stem/progenitor cells) | |
Biomolecules in blood plasma, urine including macromolecules, small molecules | - Specific assays for individual molecules |
- "Broad Net" approaches of proteomics, metabolomics, siRNAs, etc. | |
Integrative Physiology/Systems Biology | Multiple opportunities to link in vitro and animal models to humans and to use mathematical models to dynamically integrate multiple biological parameters |