title: A comparative transcriptomic study on the effects of valproic acid on two different hESCs lines in a neural teratogenicity test system.
abstract: A number of in vitro toxicity assays based on human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are under development in order to provide alternative methods for the screening of chemicals and drugs and to reduce the number of animals needed for developmental toxicity assessment. The major challenge is to demonstrate the reliability of these in vitro methods by correlating the in vitro produced results to the available in vivo data. In this context transcriptomic approaches associated to toxicogenomic database analysis give the possibility to screen, annotate and cluster high numbers of genes and to identify the molecular changes that univocally mark the toxicity induced processes or are indicative of the early initiating events that lead to cellular toxicity. In this retrospective study we compare microarray transcriptomic data derived from two different hESCs lines (HUES1 and H9) exposed to valproic acid (VA) while applying the same differentiation protocol. We present the results of this comparative analysis in light of the known teratogenic effects of VA. The results show molecular changes in the processes of neural development, neural crest migration, apoptosis and regulation of transcription, indicating a good correspondence with the available in vivo data. We also describe common toxicological signatures and provide an interpretation of the observed qualitative differences referring to known biological features of the two hESCs lines.
authors.affiliation: Avantea srl, Laboratory of Reproductive Technologies, Via Porcellasco 7f, 26100 Cremona, Italy. Electronic address: silviacolleoni@avantea.it.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Colleoni
authors.affiliation: Avantea srl, Laboratory of Reproductive Technologies, Via Porcellasco 7f, 26100 Cremona, Italy; Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano Emilia, Italy; Fondazione Avantea, Cremona, Italy. Electronic address: cesaregalli@avantea.it.
authors.forename: Cesare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Galli
authors.affiliation: Center of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Institute of Neurophysiology, University of Cologne, Robert-Koch-Str. 39, 50931 Cologne, Germany. Electronic address: gasparj@uni-koeln.de.
authors.forename: John Antony
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Gaspar
authors.affiliation: Center of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Institute of Neurophysiology, University of Cologne, Robert-Koch-Str. 39, 50931 Cologne, Germany. Electronic address: meganak7@uni-koeln.de.
authors.forename: Kesavan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Meganathan
authors.affiliation: Center of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Institute of Neurophysiology, University of Cologne, Robert-Koch-Str. 39, 50931 Cologne, Germany. Electronic address: jagtaps@uni-koeln.de.
authors.forename: Smita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jagtap
authors.affiliation: Center of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Institute of Neurophysiology, University of Cologne, Robert-Koch-Str. 39, 50931 Cologne, Germany. Electronic address: j.Hescheler@uni-koeln.de.
authors.forename: Jurgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hescheler
authors.affiliation: European Commission, Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, System Toxicology Unit, Via E.fermi 2749, 21027 Ispra (VA), Italy. Electronic address: Dimitra.ZAGOURA@ec.europa.eu.
authors.forename: Dimitra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zagoura
authors.affiliation: European Commission, Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, Nanobiosciences Unit, Via E.Fermi 2749, Ispra (VA), Italy. Electronic address: susanne.bremer@jrc.ec.europa.eu.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bremer
authors.affiliation: Center of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Institute of Neurophysiology, University of Cologne, Robert-Koch-Str. 39, 50931 Cologne, Germany. Electronic address: akp47@uni-koeln.de.
authors.forename: Agapios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sachinidis
authors.affiliation: Avantea srl, Laboratory of Reproductive Technologies, Via Porcellasco 7f, 26100 Cremona, Italy; Fondazione Avantea, Cremona, Italy. Electronic address: giovannalazzari@avantea.it.
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lazzari
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D002460:Cell Line; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D018675:Toxicity Tests / Q000379:methods*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects*; D014635:Valproic Acid / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D014635:Valproic Acid
keywords: Embryonic stem cells; In vitro test; Microarray; Teratogenicity; Valproic acid (VA)