Cytotoxicity test using blastocyst-derived euploid embryonal stem cells: A new approach to in vitro teratogenesis screening

Influence of nanoparticles on morphological differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells

“…This was consistent with reports that indicated that in the absence of an inactivated fibroblast feeder layer or LIF supplementation (34), ES cells would differentiate into many cell lineages (35)(36)(37) such as cardiac (38) and neuronal cells (39,40). ES cells that were exposed to either concentration of nanoparticles had smaller cell surface areas, suggesting partial disruption of cytoskeletal development but not nuclear…”

Embryonic Stem Cells in Safety Pharmacology and Toxicology

“…The first studies on an embryotoxicity test based on ES cells, compared the effects of 28 known teratogens on the survival of mouse ES cells and primary mouse fibroblasts from day-14 mouse embryos, in order to detect differences in sensitivity between undifferentiated and differentiated cells. 46 The ES cells had a higher sensitivity to the teratogens. This was seen as an indication of teratogenicity, although the system classified some compounds as false negatives.…”

Human Pluripotent Stem Cells and Drug Discovery: A New Beginning

“…Initially, mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) formed the basis of an innovative in vitro test system for screening potential embryotoxic compounds. Mouse ESCs could be differentiated into embryoid bodies (EBs) containing the three germ layers (ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm), marking the onset of early mammalian embryogenesis, thereby establishing itself as a competent test system 75,76 . When the mESC test (mEST) was compared against two other well-established in vitro models; rat whole-embryo culture (WEC) and the micromass (MM) test, in an international validation study funded by ECVAM (European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods), a 100% prediction rate in the evaluation of strong embryotoxic chemicals was achieved with all 3 in vitro test systems 77 .…”