Yang, A., Cardona, D.L., and F. A. Barile. (2000). In Vitro Cytotoxicity Testing with Cultured Human Lung and Dermal Cells. The Toxicologist 54(1). Abstract #1773.

mercury - 07439-97-6; copper - 07440-50-8; arsenic - 07440-38-2; sodium fluoride - 07681-49-4; nicotine - 00054-11-5; caffeine - 00058-08-2; thioridazine - 00050-52-2; paraquat - 04685-14-7; amitriptypline - 00050-48-6; chloroquine - 00054-05-7

An extensive in vitro study using human cultured cells was conducted to test the basal cytotoxicity theory. This theory suggests that most chemical injury, at least in vitro, is a manifestation of one or more insults to the basic cellular structures and functions common to mammalian cells. This accounts for the similarity of results in multilaboratory studies. Human lung epithelial carcinoma (A549) cells, and human skin fibroblasts (WS1 and Detroit551) were studied in culture to evaluate their potential to screen for cytotoxicity. Confluent monolayers were incubated in the absence or presence of increasing concentrations of test chemicals for 24-hours, and fluorescent-labelled probes were used to asess toxicity. Inhibitory concentrations were extrapolated from concentration-effect curves after linear regression analysis. Ten chemicals, including arsenic, mercury, copper, sodium fluoride, nicotine, caffeine, thioridazine, paraquat, amitriptyline, and chloroquine, were tested with each cell line using calcein-AM and Sytox. The data suggest that fluorescent probes are sensitive indicators of toxicity and contribute to understanding the mechanisms for each chemical. In addition, A549 cells revealed some significant differences from skin fibroblasts in their response to toxic insult. In combination with previously published reports, our study suggests that a basal cytotoxic phenomenon may only explain the similarity of results between skin fibroblasts and other finite human cell lines.