ZeClinics, Noldus and Pivot Park Screening Centre will work together in ZeGlobalTox project to make the translation for neurotoxicity testing zebrafish

ZeClinics, Noldus and Pivot Park Screening Centre will work together in ZeGlobalTox project to make the translation for neurotoxicity testing zebrafish This assay is expected to be a medium/high-throughput preclinical zebrafish embryo screen capable of identifying compounds with potential organotoxicity liabilities in the same animal. The projected system offers a quick and economical tool for assessing potential toxicities in large libraries of molecules at a deep morphological and functional level early in drug development. It has the potential to reduce the number of compounds entering regulatory in vivo studies and will reduce costly late stage attrition. The core principle of ZeGlobalTox is to extract reproducible results on acute toxicity, teratogenicity, cardio-, neuro- and hepato-toxicity in the same animal from microscope images of zebrafish embryos exposed to novel compounds. The entire process from treatment of the animals to image acquisition and analysis is automated, making the technology easy to adopt and integrate into existing testing strategies. In the context of the project it will also be developed a method to analyze vascular toxicity, by video recording blood vessels and software-driven analyze blood flow and vessel diameters. The ZeGlobalTox platform uses zebrafish embryos younger than five days old and so are not protected animals requiring an ethical license. It will combine fluorescent or bright-field images and specific analytical software to extract information about the functionality of the organs or tissues in response to compounds. The NC3Rs is the UK’s national organisation which leads the discovery and application of new technologies and approaches to replace, reduce and refine the use of animals for scientific purposes (the 3Rs). They collaborate with scientists and organisations from across the life newss sector, nationally and internationally, including universities, the pharmaceutical, chemical and consumer products industries, other research funders, and regulatory authorities. They fund 3Rs research, training and career development, support open innovation and commercialisation of 3Rs technologies, and stimulate changes in policy, regulations and practice relating to the use of animals. CRACK IT is a funding competition (Challenges) and technology partnering hub (Solutions) designed to accelerate the development, application and commercialisation of technologies with 3Rs potential as they emerge from the research base. CRACK IT has been developed to facilitate active collaboration between the pharmaceutical, chemical and consumer products industries, contract research organisations, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the academic sector.