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Project
Can food additives cause liver damage? A mechanistic in vitro modelling study. (FWOAL1047)
Several concerns have been raised in recent years regarding the
safety of food additives. Among those are a number of colourants,
sweeteners, anti-caking or glazing agents that have been shown to
cause adverse effects in the liver of laboratory animals. The present
project will elucidate the mechanisms underlying these presumed
hepatotoxic effects by incubation of these food additives in
tridimensional spheroid cultures of primary human hepatocytes and
non-parenchymal liver cells. Through whole transcriptome templated
oligo assay with sequencing read-out analysis and pathway analysis,
a mechanistic scenario of the hepatotoxic effects induced by the food
additives will be established. This will be substantiated by a series of
translational and functional analyses of known triggers and key
events in liver toxicity, in particular steatotic and cholestatic insults.
Furthermore, the use of effects at the transcriptional level for setting
limits for safe daily intake of food additives will be explored. Overall,
the outcome of the present project will shed more light onto the
hepatotoxic potential of food additives and will demonstrate the
power of human-based in vitro experimentation for chemical risk
assessment purposes.
safety of food additives. Among those are a number of colourants,
sweeteners, anti-caking or glazing agents that have been shown to
cause adverse effects in the liver of laboratory animals. The present
project will elucidate the mechanisms underlying these presumed
hepatotoxic effects by incubation of these food additives in
tridimensional spheroid cultures of primary human hepatocytes and
non-parenchymal liver cells. Through whole transcriptome templated
oligo assay with sequencing read-out analysis and pathway analysis,
a mechanistic scenario of the hepatotoxic effects induced by the food
additives will be established. This will be substantiated by a series of
translational and functional analyses of known triggers and key
events in liver toxicity, in particular steatotic and cholestatic insults.
Furthermore, the use of effects at the transcriptional level for setting
limits for safe daily intake of food additives will be explored. Overall,
the outcome of the present project will shed more light onto the
hepatotoxic potential of food additives and will demonstrate the
power of human-based in vitro experimentation for chemical risk
assessment purposes.
Date:1 Jan 2022 → Today
Keywords:Food additive, safety, in vitro
Disciplines:In vitro testing, Public health nutrition, Public health sciences not elsewhere classified, Toxicology and toxinology not elsewhere classified