The congress traditionally takes place at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz.
Photo: Christiane Hohensee


The congress is of great significance, as the World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences only takes place every three years, the next time in 2014 in Prague, It is a chance for a professional and critical exchange of ideas on results, for gathering information and above all for offering young scientists a chance to present their results to a broader professional audience. An important emphasis currently lies on the presentation of new methods in the field of cosmetics, as the European Commission is considering exceptions to the final sales ban in Europe for cosmetics tested on animals.




Prof. Horst Spielmann reporting on the development of the Embryonic Stem Cell Test (EST) Assay during the EUSAAT/ETS joint meeting.
Photo: Christiane Hohensee.


Alongside prestigious scientists from fifteen different countries, important companies that have distinguished themselves with innovative investments in replacement methods for animal testing, authorities that themselves conduct research and especially representatives of evaluating bodies, the European Commission and several national and international animal welfare organisations and European animal welfare coalitions were represented. It is also positive that an increasing number of Eastern European countries distinguish themselves with a high level of scientific output. InVitroJobs also presented a poster at the congress and informed about the current developments of the two projects InVitroJobs and SATIS.




Christiane Hohensee from InVitroJobs explains the development of the projects. Left: Managing Director Horst Fuchs of Cellsystems.
Photo: Norbert Alzmann.


This article can only describe some interesting details as examples. The EUSAAT/ETS joint meeting on the topic “Innovations and applications of the embryonic stem cell test (EST)” offered some highly interesting insights into the research of teratogenic substances, for instance with regard to clarifying the mechanisms involved in the formation of the limb deformities caused by thalidomide. Fifty years after those terrible occurrences, scientists are able to use embryonic stem cells to describe a biochemical mechanism that plays a part in impaired limb development. The researcher Prof. Agapios Sachinidis from the Institute for Neurophysiology in Cologne uses human embryonic stem cells and combines two-dimensional electrophoresis, transcriptomics and microarrays with tandem mass spectroscopy in order to depict the influence of thalidomide on the differentiation of limbs or the heart. He was able to demonstrate, for example, that thalidomide inhibits the gene expression of RANBP1, which normally plays an important part in the nucleocytoplasmatic transport of proteins, as well as the genes for the enzyme glutathione S-transferase (GSTA1 und GSTA2), which for instance plays an important part in detoxifying carcinogenic substances.

The Dutch research group led by Prof. Aldert Piersma at the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) uses transcriptomics to investigate the characterisation of changes in gene expression during the various stages of differentiation of embryonic stem cells into different cell types. They could thus indentify a differentiation pathway responsible for changes in gene expression. In the search for a suitable stem cell differentiation pathway, they compare chemical substances that exercise a substance-specific influence on gene expression. When such a pathway is found, chemical substances can be tested with respect to their developmental toxicity.

During the congress interspecies differences were also repeatedly addressed. Prof. Ellen Fritsche from the Leibniz Institute for Environmental Medicine (IUF) informed on species-specific differences in metabolic pathways using the example of differentiation of neural precursor cells into neurones. As a model she uses neurospheres, three-dimensional cell culture models created from neural precursor cells, which can grow in cultures and migrate into their environs to further develop into neurones or glia cells.



Prof. Fritsche explains species differences when investigating neurotoxicity using 3D cultures.
Photo: Christiane Hohensee

The company Primacyt, in collaboration with the University of Greifswald, the Occupational Accident Clinic (Berufsgenossenschaftliche Unfallklinik) in Tübingen and the Charité Berlin, used primary hepatocytes to investigate membrane transporters and the intake of the substrate estrone-3-sulfate. The researchers compared the hepatocytes of non-human primates (cynomolgus), dogs, rats and humans and conducted a species-specific characterisation of the transport channels via comparison of the intake of different substrates that are used in pharmaceutical tests. All hepatocytes behaved more or less differently depending on temperature and substrate. The results showed that hepatocyte transporter studies conducted on animals cannot be transferred to humans.

The company Across Barriers based in the Saarland presented a human cornea model that is suitable for testing new or modified ocular medication, as well as the tolerance of preservatives in such medication, with the object of reducing animal testing. This model investigates how substances can be transported through the cornea to the target area in the eye. The three-dimensional model, which consists of immortalised human corneal cell lines, has already been established in-house. The next stage is a prevalidation study to be conducted in three laboratories working independently from one another. They will test pharmacologically relevant substances under different physicochemical conditions. We will soon feature Across Barriers in our category “Working Group – a Portrait”.

Another very promising project is the development of the Skin Sensitisation Test by BASF, which was presented by Dr. Robert Landsiedel. This combines three tests in one test strategy, the DRPA (Direct Protein Reactivity Assay), the LuSens (a test using creatinocytes) and the MUSST or h-CLAT Assay (human cell line activation test). In contrast to the single tests, the precision of the test strategy after testing 54 substances is 94 per cent. The method is already in prevalidation at the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM). However, ECVAM will not have completed validation before the beginning of 2013, as the last stage of the EU Cosmetics Directive will then enter into force. BASF will however employ the test combination in-house and then wait for the ECHA’s reaction to the proposal. The purpose of the test is to identify substances that can lead to an allergic contact dermatitis.

The Austrian research team led by Prof. Johannes Grillari in cooperation with a Chinese team led by Ting Zhou in Guangzhou has succeeded in obtaining induced pluripotent stem cells from human urine without any invasive procedures. The researchers were able to establish a new cell line for renal toxicity tests (RPTEC /Renal Proximal Tubule Epithelial Cells) which possesses all the necessary characteristics of the primary cells whilst being a cell line. It was possible to isolate the cells from human urine and immortalise them. The cells are first re-embryonalised to iPS cells and then differentiated to the desired cell type.

Scientists working in basic research have also investigated human-specific methods. For Prof. Mark Cunningham from Newcastle, epilepsy is merely an abnormal electrical activity in the brain. He uses thin brain slices prepared from neocortical tissue obtained via biopsies (“elective neurosurgery”) to gain new insights into and a greater understanding of epilepsy.

Several awards were bestowed during the congress. The ALTEX Award 2012 for the most outstanding publication of the year 2011 went to Dr. Erwin van Vlieth for his article “Current standing and future prospects for the technologies proposed to transform toxicity testing in the 21st century".




President of the journals ALTEX, Dr. Dr. Stefanie Schindler, during the laudatory speech fort he award recipient Dr. Erwin van Vlieth. Right photo: The award recipient (third from left) during a convivial evening.
Photos: Christiane Hohensee

Two EUSAAT Poster Awards were also bestowed, going to the authors Dr. Susanne Kolle, Dr. Kristie Sullivan, Dr. Annette Mehling, Dr. Ben van Ravenzwaay and Dr. Robert Landsiedel from BASF for their poster contribution “Applicability of In Vitro Test Strategies for Skin Irritation to Regulatory Classification Schemes: Substantiating Test Strategies with Data from Routine Studies”. A further recipient was a work group from the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht.




Dr. Tzutzuy Ramirez Hernandez accepts the award in the name of the BASF work group. Second recipient was the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht. Dr. Stefan van Vaessen accepted the award.
Photos: Christiane Hohensee

The animal welfare organisation Four Paws also bestowed a poster award, which went to Yulia Kaluzhny, Helena Kandarova, Laurence d’Argembeau-Thornton, Patrick Hayden and Mitchell Klausner from the MatTek Corporation for die development of the EpiOcular eye irritant test for the identification and characterisation of eye-irritant chemicals, which is of particular significance with respect to the requirements of the EU Cosmetics and Chemicals Directive.




The Four Paws Poster Award was accepted by Dr. Yulia Kaluzhny.
Photo: Christiane Hohensee

Abstracts of all the contributions can currently be read under:
http://www.eusaat.org/images/2012/abstracts_eusaat_2012_final.pdf