Resolving the black box of PFAS toxicty: Using a whole-body organism to explore and define toxic endpoints

Dr. Samantha Hughes 
Environmental Health & Toxicology Department - Vrije Universiteit - Netherlands

October 26, 2023 (12:00-13:30)
Webinar Link: https://meet.goto.com/408448525

Abstract: In vitro cell-based assays lack the ability to quantitatively link whole-body adverse outcomes with human-relevant molecular events that have been perturbed by chemicals at a cellular level. To “resolve the black box” it is more informative to integrate a whole organism 3R approach with an in vitro toxicity testing approach. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is ideal for this, not least because it has high sequence similarity to humans with no ethical constraints. In my talk, I will introduce the advantages of working with C. elegans and demonstrate its applicability to toxicological testing using a group of man-made chemicals, Per- and polyfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS). Despite PFAS manufacture being banned in the EU, elevated levels of the chemicals are still detected in the environment and in the population, the health relevant effects of PFAS exposure in unclear and the specific mechanism(s) of PFAS toxicity has yet to be fully elucidated. We have therefore initiated a multi-disciplinary research line to explore how to firmly place C. elegans in the regulatory toxicity testing pipeline, making use of advances in molecular biology, computational modelling and analytical chemistry

Author's Info: https://research.vu.nl/en/persons/samantha-hughes/publications/