https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/928001

Automation of Reference Chemical Generation

To use data generated by HTS initiatives such as Tox21 and ToxCast in regulatory applications, the assays and models built from the assays must be validated based on their performance against the biological targets they query. This requires developing sets of reference chemicals that consistently yield reproducible results when assayed for these biological targets. Furthermore, the development of reference chemical sets needs to be streamlined and rapid enough to manage the tens to hundreds of assays that can help inform regulatory toxicity endpoints. To address this need, scientists at EPA and NIEHS developed a process to identify reference chemicals that consistently produce positive or negative results when assayed in defined assays (Judson et al 2019). Work under this project conducted in partnership with NCATS seeks to automate the generation of reference chemical lists without the need for new experimental tests or upfront literature review. The targets being examined for this project are androgen receptor, estrogen receptor, glucocorticoid receptor, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, progesterone receptor, retinoic acid receptors, thyroid hormone receptor, tumor protein P53, mitochondria toxicity, and cell stress pathways. The list of assays and reference chemicals generated through this process will be used to validate new assays or AOPs, which will improve chemical screening abilities when predicting toxicity. The project will be described in one or more papers to be submitted for publication in 2022 and 2023.