Novel in vitro model for toxicological analysis of drugsMadorran Esteiro, Eneko Jose (Avtor) Maver, Uroš (Mentor) Stožer, Andraž (Komentor) Keywords: Toxicological modeltranslational analysisliver in vitro modelcell viability.Despite there being a substantial range of available drugs on the market, many patients still lack effective and safe medications for their specific conditions, showing a constant need to develop new ones. Toxicological models enable us to assess their safety to various degrees, but all such models have certain limitations. Considering the advantages and drawbacks of these models, we have developed a novel viability method, Membrane Potential Cell Viability Assay (MPCVA), and a novel cell-based in vitro liver model to overcome some of the limitations of these models. The MPCVA evaluates the changes in the membrane potential, so we tested the membrane potential and cell viability relation with a cell-by-cell analysis. The MPCVA was further tested in case of cell exposure to various toxic agents that induce different cell death pathways. Finally, we used MPCVA to determine the viability of our novel cell-based in vitro liver model, which we built by combining four different types of liver cells (hepatocytes, hepatic stellate cells, Kupffer cells, and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells). Along with the MPCVA, we used clinical instrumentation to test the toxicity of three hepatotoxic drugs (5-fluorouracil, ibuprofen, and rifampicin). We observed that, under the given conditions, the MPCVA had a similar toxicity assessment as standard viability methods. We also observed that the toxicity assessment of hepatotoxic drugs is similar to the in vivo toxicity evaluation (clinical data). Therefore, the suggested approach can potentially improve existing toxicological models. However, we understand its translation to clinical practice warrants further experimentation in exposures to other drugs/toxins and by also using other cell types.20242022-11-22 14:28:55Doktorsko delo/naloga83422sl