Review of Evidence of Environmental Impacts of  Animal Research and Testing

Groff, Katherine; Bachli, Eric; Lansdowne, Molly; Capaldo, Theodora

doi:10.3390/environments1010014

Cited by 23 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Where, after cellular removal, the structural and mechanical properties of the tissue's extracellular matrix (ECM) remain mostly intact and allow for the repopulation of their ultra-structure with human cells to generate a tissue graft with similar features to an in vivo environment. However, the use of animal-derived sources for medical research comes with high economic cost, detrimental environmental impact, and controversial ethical considerations, as approximately 200 million animals are used annually, producing excessive energy consumption, carbon emissions, and laboratory waste [9,10]. Thus, continuous efforts need to be undertaken to develop novel biomaterials as alternatives.…”

Section: Vegetal Scaffolds Are New Players To the Broader Field Of Tissue Engineeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Importantly, vegetal-derived scaffolds hold promise as a sustainable alternative to animal-derived sources that come with high environmental impact and economic cost [9]. As "green" scaffolds, plant tissues used for TE or cellular modeling could reduce waste production, energy use, and pollution, while saving time and promoting biodiversity.…”

Section: Additional Considerations For Decellularized Plant-based Biomaterialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Emerging Role of Decellularized Plant-Based Scaffolds as a New Biomaterial

Harris

Lacombe

Zenhausern

2021

IJMS

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The decellularization of plant-based biomaterials to generate tissue-engineered substitutes or in vitro cellular models has significantly increased in recent years. These vegetal tissues can be sourced from plant leaves and stems or fruits and vegetables, making them a low-cost, accessible, and sustainable resource from which to generate three-dimensional scaffolds. Each construct is distinct, representing a wide range of architectural and mechanical properties as well as innate vasculature networks. Based on the rapid rise in interest, this review aims to detail the current state of the art and presents the future challenges and perspectives of these unique biomaterials. First, we consider the different existing decellularization techniques, including chemical, detergent-free, enzymatic, and supercritical fluid approaches that are used to generate such scaffolds and examine how these protocols can be selected based on plant cellularity. We next examine strategies for cell seeding onto the plant-derived constructs and the importance of the different functionalization methods used to assist in cell adhesion and promote cell viability. Finally, we discuss how their structural features, such as inherent vasculature, porosity, morphology, and mechanical properties (i.e., stiffness, elasticity, etc.) position plant-based scaffolds as a unique biomaterial and drive their use for specific downstream applications. The main challenges in the field are presented throughout the discussion, and future directions are proposed to help improve the development and use of vegetal constructs in biomedical research.

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Section: Vegetal Scaffolds Are New Players To the Broader Field Of Tissue Engineeringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Additional Considerations For Decellularized Plant-based Biomaterialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Emerging Role of Decellularized Plant-Based Scaffolds as a New Biomaterial

Harris

Lacombe

Zenhausern

2021

IJMS

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“…There is limited information on the time needed to test panels of chemicals as would be necessary in a screening program. In the human health domain, it took an estimated 30 years to obtain toxicity data on 300 chemicals using animal tests compared to the U.S. ToxCast program which generated data across 600 mechanistic endpoints for 300 chemicals in about five years (Groff et al 2014). Looking at the avian ToxChip as an example in ecotoxicology, transcriptomics data for 16 flame retardants using a chicken hepatocyte culture model were collected in under 4 weeks (Porter et al 2014).…”

Section: Resource Comparisons Between Traditional and New Approach Me...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Resource requirements for ecotoxicity testing: A comparison of traditional and new approach methods

Mittal

Crump

Head

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Toxicity testing is under transformation as it aims to harness the potential of New Approach Methods (NAMs) as alternative test methods that may be less resource-intensive (i.e., fewer animals, cheaper costs, quicker assays) than traditional approaches while also providing more data and information. While many stakeholders are of the opinion that this unfolding transformation holds significant promise as a more efficient and ethical way forward, few studies have compared the resources required for NAMs versus those needed for traditional animal-based toxicity tests, particularly in the field of ecotoxicology. The objective was to compare resources needed for traditional animal-based ecotoxicity tests versus alternative tests using emergent NAMs. From a bibliometric review, we estimate that traditional tests for a single chemical cost $118,000 USD, require 135 animals, and take 8 weeks. In comparison, alternative tests cost $2,600, require 20 animals (or none), and take up to 4 weeks to test 16 (to potentially hundreds of) chemicals. Based on our analysis we conclude that NAMs in ecotoxicology can be more advantageous than traditional methods in terms of resources required (i.e., monetary costs, number of animals needed, and testing times). We note, however, that the evidence underpinning these conclusions is relatively sparse. Moving forward, groups developing and applying NAMs should provide more detailed accounts of the resources required. In addition, there is also a need for carefully designed case studies that demonstrate the domain of applicability of NAMs (and make comparisons to traditional tests) to ultimately build confidence among the user community.

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“… 22 , 23 Moreover, considering environmental pollution, adverse impacts on biodiversity, and public health associated with animal experiments, the US Environmental Protection Agency has proposed to eliminate all the animal experiments by 2035. 24 Subsequently, the past decade has witnessed the emergence and development of culture methods of lineage-specific differentiation with pluripotent stem cells like kidney organoid 25–30 and organ-on-a-chip (OoC) technology. 31–38 The kidney organoid culture approaches are advantageous over the 2D cell culture system as they highly express tissue-specific phenotypes in general.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Glomerulus-on-a-Chip: Current Insights and Future Potential Towards Recapitulating Selectively Permeable Filtration Systems

Doi¹,

Kimura²,

Matsunaga³

et al. 2022

IJNRD

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Glomerulopathy, characterized by a dysfunctional glomerular capillary wall, results in proteinuria, leading to end-stage renal failure and poor clinical outcomes, including renal death and increased overall mortality. Conventional glomerulopathy research, including drug discovery, has mostly relied on animal experiments because in-vitro glomerulus models, capable of evaluating functional selective permeability, was unavailable in conventional in-vitro cell culture systems. However, animal experiments have limitations, including time- and cost-consuming, multi-organ effects, unstable reproducibility, inter-species reliability, and the social situation in the EU and US, where animal experiments have been discouraged. Glomerulus-on-a-chip, a new in-vitro organ model, has recently been developed in the field of organ-on-a-chip research based on microfluidic device technology. In the glomerulus-on-a-chip, the podocytes and endothelial cells are co-cultured in a microfluidic device with physical stimuli that mimic the physiological environment to enhance cell function to construct a functional filtration barrier, which can be assessed by permeability assays using fluorescently labeled molecules including inulin and albumin. A combination of this glomerulus-on-a chip technology with the culture technology to induce podocytes and endothelial cells from the human pluripotent stem cells could provide an alternative organ model and solve the issue of animal experiments. Additionally, previous experiments have verified the difference in the leakage of albumin using differentiated podocytes derived from patients with Alport syndrome, such that it could be applied to intractable hereditary glomerulopathy models. In this review, we provide an overview of the features of the existing glomerulus-on-a-chip systems, focusing on how they can address selective permeability verification tests, and the challenges they involved. We finally discuss the future approaches that should be developed for solving those challenges and allow further improvement of glomerulus-on-a-chip technologies.

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Review of Evidence of Environmental Impacts of Animal Research and Testing

Cited by 23 publications

References 45 publications

The Emerging Role of Decellularized Plant-Based Scaffolds as a New Biomaterial

The Emerging Role of Decellularized Plant-Based Scaffolds as a New Biomaterial

Resource requirements for ecotoxicity testing: A comparison of traditional and new approach methods

Glomerulus-on-a-Chip: Current Insights and Future Potential Towards Recapitulating Selectively Permeable Filtration Systems

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