The Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing is an academic center affiliated with the Division of Toxicological Sciences in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

 

Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

Research Grants 1995-1996

Cellular-based Assays to Detect Toxic Agents and Elucidate the Underlying Genetic and Biochemical Mechanisms of Toxicity

Michael S. Dubow, PhD
McGill University, Montreal, Quebec

The hypothesis of this research is that cells will augment or repress the expression of specific genes upon exposure to a toxic agent, in order to reorient cell physiology to cope with the stress. To identify and quantitate the activity of these genes, the investigators have prepared a library of luciferase gene fusions in the genetically well-characterized bacterium E. coli, and have identified a number of clones which illustrate luminescence changes upon cellular exposure to a variety of compounds. These clones will be validated for their use as luminescent "biosensors" to detect toxic agents, and due to the luciferase "gene tagging," the genes and encoded proteins will be isolated to identify the underlying mechanisms of cellular toxicity.