Scientific area
3.1 Basic medicine
Discipline(s)
Toxicology
Project title
Mitochondria: a Biosensor to Investigate Drug-induced Mitochondrial Toxicity
Scientific Coordinator's name:
Paulo J. Oliveira
Scientific Coordinator's e-mail:
pauloliv@ci.uc.pt
Principal R&D Unit:
Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology
Other R&D Units involved in the project:
Other R&D units involved in the project
Project keyword(s)
Cardiotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, mitochondria, drug safety, environmental toxicity
Short abstract and comments
The process of drug development contains critical steps aimed at predicting the safety of several drug candidates. This is usually performed in using animal models, namely rodents, which leads often to the use of thousands of animals per year. The use of isolated organelles to predict drug safety has been used by pharmaceutical companies to predict drug safety. In this particular regard, our group uses isolated rat mitochondrial fractions from different organs (heart, liver, brain, kidney) to predict the safety/toxicity of several molecules. By being the cell powerhouses, mitochondrial have a very important role in the viability of all biological processes. Drug-induced mitochondrial failure in tissues which require high energy inputs results in progress organ failure. The objectives of this undergoing project is to use isolated mitochondrial fractions to predict compound toxicity based on specific mitochondrial end-points, including mitochondrial respiration, development of membrane electric potential and calcium susceptibility. Examples of possible test compounds include environmental pollutants, food additives and drug candidates.
Potential uses/indications
Compound safety prediction based on mitochondrial toxicity data; efficacy of waste water cleaning treatments (removal of mitochondrial deleterious agents); safety of food additives, including phytochemicals
Status
Ongoing
Partner Status: Seeking Partners?
Yes
Grant number (QREN, FP7, Eureka, etc)
Grant number (QREN, FP7, Eureka, etc)
Last edited on
2012-07-18 09:38:18