Essential Concepts in Toxicogenomics 1st Edition Donna L. Mendrick (Auth.)
Essential Concepts in Toxicogenomics 1st Edition Donna L. Mendrick (Auth.)
Essential Concepts in Toxicogenomics 1st Edition Donna L. Mendrick (Auth.)
Essential Concepts in Toxicogenomics 1st Edition Donna L. Mendrick (Auth.)
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7. M E T H O D S I N M O L E C U L A R B I O L O G YTM
Essential Concepts
in Toxicogenomics
Edited by
Donna L. Mendrick
Gene Logic Inc,
Gaithersburg, MD, USA
and
William B. Mattes
The Critical Path Institute, Rockville, MD, USA
9. Preface
The field of toxicogenomics is moving rapidly, so it is impossible at the
time of this writing to compile a classic methods textbook. Instead, we chose
to identify experts in all aspects of this field and challenged them to write
reviews, opinion pieces, and case studies. This book covers the main areas
important to the study and use of toxicogenomics. Chapter 1 speaks to the
convergence of classic approaches alongside toxicogenomics. Chapter 2 deals
with the usefulness of toxicogenomics to identify the mechanism of toxicity.
Chapter 3 calls attention to the issues that affect the quality of toxicogenomics
experiments, as well as the implications of using microarrays as diagnostic
devices. The need for appropriate statistical approaches to genomic data is
discussed in Chapter 4, and Chapters 5 and 6 describe the use of genomic
data to build toxicogenomic models and provide insights from the approaches
of two companies. The important topic of storing the data generated in such
experiments and the correct annotation that must accompany such data is
considered in Chapter 7. The discussion in Chapter 8 speaks to the use of
toxicogenomics to identify species similarities and differences. Chapters 9 and
10 deal with the use of genomics to identify biomarkers within the preclinical
and clinical arenas. Biomarkers will only be useful if the community at large
accepts them as meaningful. Consortia are important to drive this function, and
Chapter 11 discusses current efforts in this area. Last but not least, Chapter 12
presents a perspective on the regulatory implications of toxicogenomic data and
some of the hurdles that can be seen in its implication in GLP studies. Although
this book tends to focus on pharmaceuticals, the issues facing toxicology are
shared by the chemical manufacturers, the tobacco industry, and their regulators.
We want to thank our contributors for their generous time and energy in
providing their insights. Sadly, we must note the unexpected passing of one
of our authors, Dr. Joseph Hackett of the FDA. Joe’s contribution serves as a
testimony to his accomplishments in this field, and his insight will be missed
in the years to come.
Donna L. Mendrick
William B. Mattes
v
10. Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Color Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
1 Toxicogenomics and Classic Toxicology: How to Improve
Prediction and Mechanistic Understanding of Human Toxicity
Donna L. Mendrick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2 Use of Traditional End Points and Gene Dysregulation
to Understand Mechanisms of Toxicity: Toxicogenomics
in Mechanistic Toxicology
Wayne R. Buck, Jeffrey F. Waring, and Eric A. Blomme . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3 Quality Control of Microarray Assays for Toxicogenomic
and In Vitro Diagnostic Applications
Karol L. Thompson and Joseph Hackett. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4 Role of Statistics in Toxicogenomics
Michael Elashoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
5 Predictive Toxicogenomics in Preclinical Discovery
Scott A. Barros and Rory B. Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
6 In Vivo Predictive Toxicogenomics
Mark W. Porter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
7 Bioinformatics: Databasing and Gene Annotation
Lyle D. Burgoon and Timothy R. Zacharewski . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
8 Microarray Probe Mapping and Annotation in Cross-Species
Comparative Toxicogenomics
John N. Calley, William B. Mattes, and Timothy P. Ryan . . . . . . . . . . . 159
9 Toxicogenomics in Biomarker Discovery
Marc F. DeCristofaro and Kellye K. Daniels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
10 From Pharmacogenomics to Translational Biomarkers
Donna L. Mendrick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
11 Public Consortium Efforts in Toxicogenomics
William B. Mattes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
vii
12. Contributors
Scott A. Barros • Toxicology, Archemix Corp., Cambridge, Massachusetts
Eric A. Blomme • Department of Cellular and Molecular Toxicology, Abbott
Laboratories, Abbott Park, Illinois
Wayne R. Buck • Department of Cellular and Molecular Toxicology, Abbott
Laboratories, Abbott Park, Illinois
Lyle D. Burgoon • Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology,
Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
John N. Calley • Department of Integrative Biology, Eli Lilly
and Company, Greenfield, Indiana
Kellye K. Daniels • Department of Toxicogenomics, Gene Logic Inc.,
Gaithersburg, Maryland
Marc F. DeCristofaro • Biomarker Development, Novartis
Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, New Jersey
Joseph J. DeGeorge • Laboratory Sciences and Investigative Toxicology,
Merck & Co Inc, West Point, Pennsylvania
Michael Elashoff • Department of BioStatistics, CardioDx, Palo Alto,
California
Joseph Hackett • Office of Device Evaluation, Center for Devices
and Radiological Health, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Rockville,
Maryland
Rory B. Martin • Drug Safety and Disposition, Millennium
Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge, Massachusetts
William B. Mattes • Department of Toxicology, The Critical Path Institute,
Rockville, Maryland
Donna L. Mendrick • Department of Toxicogenomics, Gene Logic Inc.,
Gaithersburg, Maryland
Mark W. Porter • Department of Toxicogenomics, Gene Logic Inc.,
Gaithersburg, Maryland
Timothy P. Ryan • Department of Integrative Biology, Eli Lilly
and Company, Greenfield, Indiana
Frank D. Sistare • Laboratory Sciences and Investigative Toxicology,
Merck & Co Inc., West Point, Pennsylvania
ix
13. x Contributors
Karol L. Thompson • Division of Applied Pharmacology Research, Center
for Drug Evaluation and Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration,
Silver Spring, Maryland
Jeffrey F. Waring • Department of Cellular and Molecular Toxicology,
Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Illinois
Timothy R. Zacharewski • Department of Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
14. Color Plates
Color plates follow p. 112.
Color Plate 1 Identification of genes regulated in the liver of rats
after xenobiotic activation of the nuclear receptors PPAR-
, aromatic hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), or pregnane X
receptor (PXR). (Chapter 2, Fig. 1; see legend and discussion
on p. 26.)
Color Plate 2 Hierarchical clustering of gene expression profiles of the
testes of male Sprague-Dawley rats treated with a single
dose of various testicular toxicants and sacrificed 24 h after
treatment. (Chapter 2, Fig. 2; see legend and discussion on
p. 35.)
Color Plate 3 Heatmap of gene expression profiles from the liver of rats
treated with Cpd-001 (arrow) and a wide variety of reference
compounds including nonhepatotoxicants and hepatotoxi-
cants. (Chapter 2, Fig. 4; see legend and discussion on p. 38.)
Color Plate 4 Distributions for error estimators based on proteasome data.
(Chapter 5, Fig. 2; see legend and discussion on p. 95.)
Color Plate 5 Operating characteristics of the baseline in vitro classifier as
a function of classification cutpoint. Replicate observations
were treated independently. (Chapter 5, Fig. 5; see legend
and discussion on p. 104.)
Color Plate 6 Operating characteristics of the baseline in vivo classifier as
a function of classification cutpoint. (Chapter 5, Fig. 6; see
legend on p. 105 and discussion on p. 104.)
Color Plate 7 Similarity tree for in vitro compounds. (Chapter 5, Fig. 7;
see legend on p. 107 and discussion on p. 106.)
Color Plate 8 Model scores for two doses of thioacetamide or vehicle-
treated samples at 6-, 24-, and 48-h exposures. (Chapter 6,
Fig. 4; see legend and discussion on p. 138.)
xi
16. 2 Mendrick
2. Classic Toxicology
Those in the field of drug and chemical development know of the multitude
of compounds to which humans were never exposed either in the clinic or in the
environment because of obvious toxicity seen in preclinical species. However,
it is well-known that classic testing in animals is not infallible. A study done
by a group within the Institutional Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) illustrates
the problem (5). Twelve companies contributed data on 150 compounds that
have shown toxicity in humans of a significant enough nature to warrant one
of four actions: (1) termination, (2) limitation of dosage, (3) need to monitor
drug level, or (4) restriction of target population. The group compared the
human toxicities with the results of the classic toxicity employed for each drug.
They found that only ∼70% of these toxicities could be predicted in classic
animal testing even when multiple species, primarily the rat (rodent) and dog
(nonrodent), were employed. The dog was better than the rat in predicting
human toxicity (63% vs. 43%, respectively), with the success rate varying
depending on the human target organ. However, escalating concerns regarding
the use of animals in medical research, the amounts of compound required for
such large animals, and the cost of such studies prevents this species from being
used as the first species or in sufficient numbers to detect subtle toxicities.
The exact failure rate due to toxicity and the time of its detection continues
to be the subject of study because only by understanding the problem can
one begin to propose solutions. Authors tend to report somewhat different
findings. The drugs terminated because of human toxicities evaluated in the
ILSI study (5) failed most often during Phase II (Fig. 1). Suter et al. at Roche
43
10
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
%
Terminated
Phase I Phase II Phase III
39
Fig. 1. Data illustrating the termination rate of compounds due to human toxicity
during clinical trials. (Data adapted from Olson, H., Betton, G., Robinson, D., Thomas,
K., Monro, A., Kolaja, G., et al. 2000. Concordance of the toxicity of pharmaceuticals
in humans and in animals. Regul. Toxicol. Pharmacol. 32, 56–67.)
17. Toxicogenomics and Classic Toxicology 3
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Preclinical
Phase I
Phase II
Phase III
Registration
Clinical Safety
Animal Toxicology
%
Terminated
Fig. 2. Failure rate due to animal toxicity and human safety during the devel-
opment pipeline. (Data adapted from Suter, L., Babiss, L.E., and Wheeldon, E.B.
2004. Toxicogenomics in predictive toxicology in drug development. Chem. Biol. 11,
161–171.)
(6) examined the failure rate of compounds from preclinical to registration and
divided safety failures into animal toxicity and human toxicities. Their work
found the highest failure rates due to human safety in Phase I and registration
(Fig. 2). Note that both studies found a high rate of failure in Phase II or
beyond, a costly scenario. Dimasi and colleagues have examined financial
models of drug development and have estimated the savings of terminating
unsafe compounds earlier within the clinical trial paradigm (7). For example,
if 25% of the drugs that will fail in Phase II were discontinued in Phase I,
the clinical cost savings alone per approved drug would be $13 million to
$38 million dollars. Obviously, the cost savings will be greater if one could
prevent such a drug from even entering clinical trials by improving preclinical
detection and/or by failing it earlier within the clinical testing phase (e.g.,
Phase I vs. Phase III). The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Critical
Path Initiative (www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/criticalpath/) quotes one company
executive as saying clinical failures due to hepatotoxicity had cost the company
more than $200 million per year over the past decade. Clearly, there are many
financial incentives to address the issue of safety.
3. Toxicogenomics
Many in the field have written excellent opinion pieces and reviews
on the use of toxicogenomics in drug discovery and development and in
the chemical/agrochemical sectors. Toxicogenomics is used in three areas:
predictive applications for compound prioritization, mechanistic analyses for
compounds with observed toxicity, and biomarker identification for future
18. 4 Mendrick
screens or to develop biomarkers useful in preclinical and/or clinical studies.
Though impractical to list all of the relevant publications, a few excellent
articles on toxicogenomics are provided (2,3,6,8–15).
3.1. Study Designs
As with all scientific endeavors, to answer the questions being posed it is
important to have an optimal study design. Genomics tends to be somewhat
expensive, so understandably some try to downsize the experimental setting.
Unfortunately, that may prevent hypothesis generation or evaluation of a preex-
isting theory. As an example, if one is trying to form a hypothesis as to the
mechanism of injury induced by a compound, sampling tissue only at the time
of such damage may prevent evaluation of the underlying events that started
the pathologic processes. Similarly, sampling only one time point will inhibit
the fullest evaluation of the dynamic processes of injury and repair. In classic
toxicology testing, one would not claim with certainty that a compound is
not hepatotoxic if one saw no elevation of serum alanine aminotransferase
(ALT) or histologic change in the liver in a snapshot incorporating only one
time point and dose level. Likewise, one does not pool blood from all animals
and perform clinical pathology on such. Unfortunately, some have approached
toxicogenomics in this manner (using restrictive study designs and pooled
RNA samples) and then felt betrayed by the lack of information. This does
not mean to suggest that all toxicogenomic studies must be all-encompassing
as long as the investigator understands beforehand the limits of his or her
chosen design. One approach might be to collect samples from multiple time
points and doses and triage the gene expression profiling to determine the most
important study groups within that experimental setting. Establishment of the
appropriate dose is important as well. Classic toxicology endeavors use dose
escalation until one sees a phenotypic adverse event such as changes in classic
clinical pathology, histology, body weight, and so forth. An anchoring of the
dose used for toxicogenomic studies also must be employed and contextual
effects of such doses understood. Doses that severely affect body weight likely
induce great stress upon the animal, and this must be taken into account if
this phenotypic anchor is followed. A recent paper by Shioda et al. studied
effects of xenoestrogens in cell culture and explored the relationship of doses
to transcriptional profiles (16). This work suggests that doses chosen for equiv-
alent cellular responses highlight the differences between compounds while
those selected based on the compounds’ action on a particular gene reveal
mostly similarities between the compounds. Additional work remains to be
done to determine if this conclusion can be extrapolated to other compound
types and in vivo environments, but, at a minimum, this report reinforces the
19. Toxicogenomics and Classic Toxicology 5
need to understand the chosen study design and fully explain criteria used for
dose selection.
3.2. Genomic Approaches Can Clarify Basic Husbandry Issues
Genomics enables detection of toxicity parameters as well as differences in
animal husbandry. In many cases, the study design may call for food restriction
or animals may be accidentally deprived of food. Genomic analysis can detect
such events as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4. Studies in Gene Logic’s (Gaithersburg,
MD) ToxExpress®
database were used for the analysis. In Fig. 3, the data from the
probe sets (∼8800) on the Affymetrix Rat Genome U34A GeneChip®
microarray
(Santa Clara, CA) were subjected to a principal components analysis (PCA). Such
a test illustrates underlying differences in the data in a multidimensional picture.
For ease in viewing, two-dimensional graphical representations are provided. In
Fig. 3, the data from all probe sets were used, and, even with the accompanying
noise when so many parameters are measured, one can see differentiation of the
groups particularly if one combines the x and y axes, accounting for 39% of the
gene expression variability.
PCA Mapping (39.3%)
41
31
22
13
4
–5
–14
PC
#2
14.3%
PC #1 25%
–80 –64 –49 –34 –19 –5 10 25 40 55 70
–23
–32
–41
–51
Treatment
Fasted
Fed
Fig. 3. A PCA using all genes on the Rat Genome U34A microarray illustrates the
differentiation on a genomic basis between rats fasted for 24 h versus those rats that
had food ad libitum. Use of all genes on the array is accompanied by noise and yet one
obtains reasonable separation using the x axis and better discrimination if one employs
both x and y axes. Such findings illustrate the ability of gene expression to provide
insight into animal husbandry.
20. 6 Mendrick
PCA Mapping (81.5%)
PC
#2
5.6%
PC #1 75.9%
–16
–10
–8.6
–7.2
–5.8
–4.4
–3
–1.6
–0.2
1.2
2.6
4
–12.9 –9.8 –6.7 –3.6 –0.5 2.6 5.7 8.8 11.9 15
Effect of Fasting
Fasted
Fed
Fig. 4. An analysis filter was applied to identify differentially regulated genes. The
filter has a cutoff as follows: fold-change ≥1.8 with t-test p-value .05 and ≥90%
present in reference or experimental group with mean avg. diff. 40. This resulted in
281 genes identified as dysregulated between fed and fasted rats. Almost all of the
variation is captured in PC #1 (75.9%) and the groups are more clearly separated than
seen when all genes were used as shown in Fig. 3.
When genes that were differentially regulated among the fed and fasted
animals were chosen, the gene list was reduced from 5000 to 281. The results
in Fig. 4 demonstrate a complete discrimination of these rats with the x axis
accounting for 76% of the variability.
Genomics can be used to discriminate strain and gender as well. In the
former case, female rats of Sprague-Dawley (SD) or Wistar origin were
compared. Although evaluation using all genes discriminated these strains (data
not shown), selection of differentially regulated genes resulted in a clearer
separation as shown in Fig. 5. Because both strains are albino, one could
envision using a genomics approach should there be a potential mix-up of
strains in the animal room.
What is likely less surprising is the ability to categorize gender based on gene
expression findings. Although it is usually easy to identify the gender of rats by
physical examination alone, one could envision the use of a genomic approach
to study the feminization of male rats under drug treatment or vice versa. As
shown in Fig. 6, a PCA employing all genes discriminates between genders
although the first two axes capture only ∼23% of the variation suggesting there
21. Toxicogenomics and Classic Toxicology 7
PCA Mapping (69.9%)
PC
#2
6.72%
PC #1 63.2%
–9
–5.3
–4.36
–3.42
–2.48
–1.54
–0.6
0.34
1.28
2.22
3.16
4.1
–7.3 –5.6 –3.9 –2.2 –0.5 1.2 2.9 4.6 6.3 8
SD
Effect of Strain
Wistar
Fig. 5. A PCA was performed with 83 genes that were differentially expressed
between normal female Sprague-Dawley (SD) or Wistar rats. Such strains are clearly
discriminated using a genomic approach.
PCA Mapping (24.3%)
PC
#2
7.44%
PC #1 16.9%
–90
–54
–44
–34
–24
–14
–5
4
14
24
34
44
–72 –55 –38 –21 –5 12 29 46 63 80
Gender
Female
Male
Fig. 6. A PCA was performed with all genes from male and female rat livers. There
is an overall separation particularly if one combines the variability shown along the x
and y axes.
22. 8 Mendrick
PCA Mapping (68.9%)
PC
#2
5.3%
PC #1 63.6%
–14
–5
–3.9
–2.8
–1.7
–0.6
0.5
1.6
2.7
3.8
4.9
6
–11.3 –8.6 –5.9 –3.2 –0.5 2.2 4.9 7.6 10.3 13
Effect of Gender
Female
Male
Fig. 7. A PCA was performed with 175 genes that were differentially expressed
between the genders. In this case, the majority of difference was captured in the first
axis resulting in a very clear separation of the genders.
are many subtle effects, a point not likely to be argued by many humans. Using
genes differentially regulated, however, found that 175 genes can account for
more than 63% of variation in the first axis alone as shown in Fig. 7.
In the three cases described above (food deprivation, strain, and gender),
differentially regulated genes were identified that enabled clear categorization
between the groups. However, the reverse is also true. Removal of genes that
identify such differences from the analysis can enable other differences to
become more apparent. Such has been accomplished with the predictive models
built as part of our ToxExpress program specifically to avoid such confounding
variables and enable such models to work well when female or male rats are
used of various strains and independent of fasting.
3.3. Toxicogenomics Can Augment Understanding of Classic
Toxicology Findings
Toxicogenomics can add value to classic testing when one animal appears
to have an aberrant finding. It is recognized that preclinical testing of drugs is
a complicated process and mistakes can happen. If a rat did not exhibit any
signs of toxicology unlike its cohorts, it would be informative to differentiate
dosing errors from true differences in toxicity responses. One could monitor
23. Toxicogenomics and Classic Toxicology 9
the blood to determine if the drug was detectable, but that would depend on its
clearance. Alternatively, one could explore gene expression as a subtle detection
method. Figure 8 illustrates how similarity in gene expression can identify the
treatment given. If nine rats received carbon tetrachloride and the tenth rat was
left untreated, the gene expression of the latter would appear similar to that of
untreated rats as shown in the upper left corner in this mock illustration.
As seen with these examples, molecular approaches can be more sensitive
in terms of discriminating animal husbandry, strain differences, and so forth,
than parameters monitored in classic toxicity testing. Microarrays monitor tens
of thousands of events (expression levels of genes and Expressed Sequence
Tags (ESTs)), whereas classic toxicity testing has been estimated to measure
approximately 100 parameters (17). From a strictly statistical approach, one
can envision that more knowledge would lead to improved decision making
although the challenge of removing the noise when monitoring so many events
is real. Arrays provide information on the changes in individual genes, and
from this one can then hypothesize on the effects on biological pathways, and
PCA Mapping (36.5%)
PC
#2
12.5%
PC #1 24.1%
–55
–70
–57
–45
–33
–21
–10
2
14
26
38
50
–41 –27 –13 0 14 28 42 56 70
CCI4 24 hrs
CornOil 24 hrs
Untreated
Fig. 8. A PCA illustrates the greatest source of difference at the gene expression
level between the rats. The first component (PC #1) accounts for 24% of the variability,
and rats treated with carbon tetrachloride are clearly delineated from those receiving
vehicle or left untreated with the exception of the one rat in the upper left. The
second component, PC #2, accounts for 12.5% of the variability and discriminates even
untreated from vehicle-treated rats further illustrating the sensitivity of this approach.
24. 10 Mendrick
so forth, a level of understanding not provided in classic approaches. One
could use the analogy of the sensitivity of electron versus light microscopy.
Disease processes such as minimal change nephropathy induce severe functional
alterations (proteinuria) in the human kidney yet are extremely difficult to
visualize with light microscopy. However, the morphologic changes associated
with this proteinuria are clearly seen in such diseased kidneys if one uses
electron microscopy, a more sensitive technique. At the ultrastructural level, a
flattening of visceral epithelial cells upon the glomerular basement membrane
is clearly visible, and such a process is known to be associated with proteinuria
in preclinical species and in humans.
Several recent papers highlight the improved sensitivity of a genomics
approach with classic examples of compounds that produce adverse events in
rats. Heinloth and her colleagues at the National Institute of Environmental
Health and Safety (NIEHS) have examined the dose response relationship
of rat liver to acetaminophen (18). They studied multiple doses in the rat
using two (they called these “subtoxic”) doses that failed to cause changes
monitored with classic approaches. However, when ultrastructural methods
were employed, some toxicity-associated mitochondrial changes were observed
at one of these “subtoxic” doses. Evaluation of gene expression changes found,
as a consequence of acetaminophen toxicity, a loss in cellular energy even at
such “subtoxic” doses. As the dose was increased, so was the magnitude of
changes observed, and this was accompanied by alterations in associated genes.
They concluded that gene expression profiling may provide more sensitivity
for detecting adverse effects in the absence of the occurrence of overt toxicity.
Another recent paper explored a time savings approach. Nie and his
colleagues at Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development
examined changes in gene expression in the rat liver at 24 h after exposure
to nongenotoxic carcinogens and control compounds (19). They identified six
genes that predicted 89% of nongenotoxic carcinogens after 1 day of exposure
instead of the 2 years of chronic dosing normally required for such cellular
changes to be clear. They also mined the gene expression results to find
biologically relevant genes for a more mechanistic approach to understanding
nongenotoxic carcinogenicity. Together the work by Heinloth et al. and Nie
et al. highlight the sensitivity of a genomics approach to detect compounds
that will elicit classic adverse events in rats either at higher doses or exposure
times.
Toxicogenomics can be employed to identify species-specific changes
providing support for safety claims in humans. Peroxisome proliferator
activated receptor alpha (PPAR-) agonists have been widely studied as they
have been found to be clinically useful as hypolipidemic drugs yet induce
hepatic tumors in rats. It is now appreciated that such an effect has little safety
25. Toxicogenomics and Classic Toxicology 11
risk to humans and that genes can be identified in rat liver and hepatocytes
that enable discrimination of this mechanism. As suggested by Peter Lord and
his colleagues at Johnson and Johnson, this could be incorporated into the
safety evaluation of novel compounds by employing expression profiling of rat
liver or hepatocytes exposed to the new drug. Similarities between this novel
compound and known PPAR- agonists could provide a safety claim for the
former’s species-specific effects (15).
In some cases, differences in species responses to drugs may rely on dissim-
ilarities in drug metabolism enzymes. A study was performed using data in
Gene Logic’s ToxExpress database. Expression levels of genes involved in
glutathione metabolism were compared among normal tissues and genders
of the rat, mouse, and canine. As expected, expression levels varied among
genes and tissues. Little differences were seen among male and female animals
but large effects were seen among species. If differential gene expression
does translate to enzymatic activities differences between species, it would be
expected to impact drug responses. Such information could provide guidance
into species selection for toxicity testing (20). Chapters later in this book discuss
species differences in more detail.
3.4. Use of Toxicogenomics to Detect Idiosyncratic Compounds
A well-accepted definition of the term idiosyncratic, particularly on a
compound by compound basis, is hard to find as individuals use different
criteria. Some depend on incidence alone, some on the inflammatory response
induced, some on a lack of dose response relationship, and so forth. However,
universal to most users’ definitions is the lack of classic changes observed
in preclinical species. To complete the analogy started above in discussing
the sensitivity differences between light and electron microscopy, one could
suppose that idiosyncratic compounds elicit some effects at the gene and protein
level in rats but these events do not lead to changes severe enough to induce
classic phenotypic changes in this commonly used testing species. The failure
to cause overt injury in the rat might be due to (1) the inability of this species to
metabolize the drug into the toxic metabolite responsible for human injury, (2)
quantitative differences whereby rats generate the toxic metabolite but at lower
levels than seen in humans, (3) a superior ability of the rat to detoxify toxins,
and (4) the failure of rats to respond in an immune-mediated manner to adduct
formation of intrinsic cell surface proteins. Many if not all compounds today
are commonly screened for metabolism differences between species and their
development discontinued if such metabolic specific responses are seen. Even
so, the postmarketing occurrence of drug hepatotoxicity is a leading cause of
regulatory actions and further erodes the pharmaceutical pipeline. The field of
26. 12 Mendrick
drug development needs new methods to identify such drugs earlier in discovery
and development that can inform compound selection, position drugs to areas
of unmet clinical need, and influence preclinical and clinical trial designs in a
search for earlier biomarkers of liver injury induced by such a compound.
Several groups including those from Millennium (Chapter 5 and Ref. 21),
AstraZeneca (22), and Gene Logic (Chapter 6) have reported success in (a)
training predictive models using all genes and ESTs being monitored on the
array platform and (b) classifying the compounds based on their potential
to induce toxicity in humans including idiosyncratic compounds. The result
is sets of genes and ESTs that may not be easily translated into mecha-
nistic understanding on their own yet show robust predictive ability. Such an
approach has enabled the prediction of idiosyncratic hepatotoxicants from rats
and rat hepatocytes exposed to such agents. Figure 9 illustrates the predictive
ability of models built at Gene Logic to identify idiosyncratic compounds as
potential human hepatotoxicants using gene expression data obtained from in
vivo and in vitro exposure to prototypical compounds. The classification of
individual compounds as idiosyncratic tends to be controversial, so to remove
any internal bias, the statistics were compiled using marketed compounds
classified as idiosyncratic by Kaplowitz (23). Kaplowitz subclassifies idiosyn-
cratic compounds as allergic or nonallergic. As can be seen in Fig. 9, toxicoge-
nomic predictions performed from in vivo rat exposure are equally accurate
regardless of whether or not the idiosyncratic compound induces an allergic
responses in the human liver, using Kaplowitz’s classification. In contrast, the
model built from rat hepatocyte data does somewhat better with compounds that
92%
71%
92%
88%
92%
78%
0
20
40
60
80
100
In Vivo Exposure in Rats
In Vitro Exposure to
Primary Rat Hepatocytes
92%
71%
92%
88%
92%
78%
0
20
40
60
80
100
%
Predicted
as
Hepatotoxic
in
Humans
Allergic Non-allergic Allergic
Non-allergic
Fig. 9. Compounds described as idiosyncratic by Kaplowitz (23) were studied. He
discriminates between drugs that induce allergic-type reactions from those that do not,
and the results of the predictive toxicogenomic modeling are shown here.
27. Toxicogenomics and Classic Toxicology 13
cause nonallergic responses in humans. It should be remembered that idiosyn-
cratic compounds do not elicit classic phenotypic changes in rats and other
nonclinical species, yet the majority are detected using a predictive toxicoge-
nomics approach in rat liver and primary rat hepatocytes. How is it possible for
genomics to predict something in the rat that is not seen at a classic phenotypic
level?
3.4.1. Case Studies of Idiosyncratic Hepatotoxicants
For most of the idiosyncratic drugs on the market today, little is known about
their ability to induce hepatotoxicity in humans while avoiding classic detection
in preclinical species. Felbamate is an exception, and it has been researched
extensively. It has been reported that its metabolism is quantitatively different
between species and this is believed to be responsible for the failure of classic
testing to detect its potential to induce human hepatotoxicity. Researchers have
reported that felbamate is metabolized to a reactive aldehyde (atropaldehyde)
and that rats produce far less of this toxin than do humans (24). However,
because rats do produce some level of this toxic metabolite, it raises the possi-
bility that a technology more sensitive than classic testing (e.g., histopathology)
may detect subtle signs of toxicity in rat. To test this hypothesis, an in vivo
study done at Gene Logic employed 45 rats in groups of five per dose and time
point. Animals were dosed daily by oral gavage with vehicle, low-dose or high-
dose felbamate. Groups were sacrificed at 6 h and 24 h after one treatment and
14 days after daily dosing. Histology of the livers was normal. One of the high-
dose–treated rats sacrificed after 14 days of exposure exhibited an ALT level
above the normal reference range, and the entire group had a minor but statis-
tically significant elevation above the control group. The overall conclusion
of the board-certified veterinary pathologist was that a test article effect was
unclear. Because this drug failed to demonstrate hepatotoxicity in the classic
testing employed for registration, this result was not surprising. However, it
does raise the issue of whether individual rats are responding in a classic sense
to idiosyncratic compounds, and these results are not being interpreted correctly
as suggested by retrospective analysis of some idiosyncratic compounds by
Alden and colleagues at Millennium Pharmaceuticals (25). To explore the
potential effects of felbamate on gene expression, livers were collected from all
rats in this study, processed using Affymetrix GeneChip microarrays, and the
data passed through the predictive toxicogenomics models built at Gene Logic.
The results of the models, illustrated in Fig. 10, were correct in identifying
felbamate as a potential human hepatotoxicant, a potential hepatitis-inducing
agent in humans (26,27), and an agent that will cause liver enlargement in rats
28. 14 Mendrick
Hepatitis (human);
liver enlargement (rat)
E.g., nefazodone, an
idiosyncratic compound
YES
Model Results
Pathology/Mechanistic
Models
Compound
Assessment
General Model
Toxicogenomic Models Questions Addressed
Might it induce human
hepatotoxicity?
What type of injury
may it induce in
humans and/or rats
What well-known
compounds does it
resemble?
Fig. 10. Predictive toxicogenomic models were built at Gene Logic and validated
internally and with customer-provided blinded data. The results of the genomic data
obtained from felbamate-treated rat liver are shown here.
(28). The gene expression data from such treated rats showed some similarity
to other idiosyncratic drugs such as nefazodone.
Another interesting idiosyncratic drug is nefazodone. This oral antidepressant
was approved in 1994 in the United States, but postmarket cases of idiosyncratic
adverse reactions were reported that resulted in 20 deaths. A black box warning
was added to the label in 2001 and the drug withdrawn in 2004 (23,29–34).
The only hepatic effect reported in rats was a dose-related (50, 150, 300 mg
kg−1
day−1
) increase in liver weight reported in a 13-week rat study (SBA
NDA 20-152). Several mechanisms for its toxicity have been proposed. The
first hypothesis regarding its toxicity is a generation of reactive metabolites
via bioactivation, which are capable of covalently modifying CYP3A4, a drug-
metabolizing enzyme it is metabolized by and inhibits (35–37). The second
theory is that nefazodone compromises biliary elimination, resulting in an
increase in drug and bile acids retained in the liver over time (34,38). These
authors have found a transient increase in serum bile acids in rats suggesting
that rats are responding to this drug inappropriately but can recover from its
toxicity prior to developing classic phenotypic changes.
To investigate whether gene expression changes might be able to detect
nefazodone as a potential human hepatotoxicant in the absence of classic
changes in the rat, a study was performed using doses of 0, 50, and 500
mg kg−1
day−1
given by oral gavage. Note that the high dose is only 67%
higher than what the manufacturer used in its 13-week rat study in which
liver enlargement was reported. Groups of rats were sacrificed 6 h and 24 h
29. Toxicogenomics and Classic Toxicology 15
after the first dose and 7 days after daily dosing. Clinical pathology and liver
histopathology revealed no clear evidence of liver toxicity as was expected of
this idiosyncratic compound. The results from toxicogenomic modeling were
similar to that of felbamate, namely that it is a potential human hepatotox-
icant that can cause hepatitis in humans and liver enlargement in rats and
has similarity to idiosyncratic compounds such as felbamate. Kellye Daniels,
Director of Toxicogenomics at Gene Logic, examined the gene expression
data in more detail and found evidence for a transitory effect on Phase I and
II drug-metabolizing enzymes, oxidative stress response genes, protein-repair
associated genes, and a solute carrier. Taken together, this suggests the cells are
metabolizing the conjugates for removal, proteins are damaged, and the cell is
trying to remove them alongside a compensatory induction of a solute carrier to
export them. These changes may reflect the reason rats do not develop obvious
hepatotoxicity.
It is hypothesized that idiosyncratic compounds have a similar phenotypic
pattern at the gene level to compounds known to induce hepatotoxicity in
rats and that enables predictive models to detect the former as well as the
latter. The effect of compounds on the expression of superoxide dismutase
2 (Sod2), shown in Fig. 11, will serve as an example. This gene encodes a
protein that catalyzes the breakdown of superoxide into hydrogen peroxide
and water in the mitochondria and is therefore a central regulator of reactive
oxygen species (ROS) levels (39). The expression of this gene is upregulated
by compounds such as acetaminophen and lipopolysaccharide, known to induce
Cross-Compound Comparison of Sod2 Expression
Fold Change (24 hr exposure) *p 0.05
*
*
*
*
Rosiglitazone
Diclofenac
Acetaminophen
Lipopolysaccharide
Nefazodone
–2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Fig. 11. The expression level of superoxide dismutase 2 (Sod2) in toxicant-treated
liver tissue compared with vehicle controls is illustrated. Both the fold change and
statistical results are shown.
30. 16 Mendrick
hepatotoxicity in multiple species yet acting by differing mechanisms. Two
idiosyncratic compounds, diclofenac and nefazodone, also elevate the level of
this gene, whereas a drug not associated with hepatotoxicity, rosiglitazone,
has no significant effect. This illustrates the commonality of gene expression
among many compounds that cause human hepatotoxicity whether or not they
induce similar toxicity in rats, the species examined here.
4. Use of Toxicogenomics in an In Vitro Approach
Because earlier identification of a compound destined to fail in the market-
place would save significant resources, it is important to examine what
can be done in terms of both cell culture (in vitro) and animal (in vivo)
testing. Although cells in a culture environment do not maintain their in situ
morphology, their homeostatic function and potentially the full complement
of drug-metabolizing genes, the ease of use, and relative savings in terms
of compound and time continues to induce researchers to exploit in vitro
systems. Companies tend to focus on cell culture approaches to rank compounds
on the basis of potential toxicity during lead optimization but only if suffi-
cient throughput and cost constraints can be met (3,40). Because the in vitro
environment does not represent all of the complex processes at play upon in
vivo exposure, during lead prioritization some prefer to focus on short-term in
vivo approaches instead (41).
How can toxicogenomics add value to classic in vitro approaches (e.g.,
cytotoxicity) and in vivo studies? First, it is helpful to identify what is needed in
these stages. Donna Dambach and her colleagues at Bristol-Myers Squibb were
working with a tiered testing strategy using immortalized human hepatocyte cell
lines and primary rat and human hepatocytes (40). They report good success
in using their five human hepatocyte cell lines in a cytotoxicity assay wherein
compounds with an IC50 value of 50 μM are deemed to be of increased
risk and may be subjected to further testing. Although this assay only detects
necrosis-causing compounds, they find it valuable because it has been reported
that 50% of all drug-related hepatotoxicity is due to necrosis.
Because genomic approaches can monitor thousands of genes at one time,
it can enlarge our understanding of the various cellular responses to an agent
that can lead to both predictive models based on a statistical approach and to
better mechanistic understanding. Barros and Martin (Chapter 5 and Ref. 21)
detail a successful approach for using gene expression data from primary rat
hepatocytes exposed to hepatotoxicants and safe compounds to generate a
predictive toxicogenomic model of hepatotoxicity that can be used as a screen
to rank compounds on the basis of their potential to induce hepatotoxicity.
Similarly, Hultin-Rosenberg and colleagues at AstraZeneca report success in
31. Toxicogenomics and Classic Toxicology 17
using such approaches (22). These authors used several statistical methods and
found little gene overlap between them. They concluded that the ability to
“map biological pathways onto predictive sets will be problematic” as genes
chosen with statistical approaches may or may not respond in similar ways
to other members of the same pathway. Jeff Waring and his colleagues at
Abbott have reported the use of toxicogenomics to identify mechanisms of
toxicity using primary rat and human hepatocytes (42,43), and Sawada et al.
identified a set of genes in HepG2 cells that can be used in an in vitro screen to
identify compounds that cause phospholipidosis (44). Thus, teams of researchers
are exploring new ways to improve accuracy of toxicity assessment using a
genomics approach that may be used with in vitro or in vivo exposure to build
predictive models and to enhance mechanistic understanding.
5. Regulatory Issues
The FDA has been proactive in the use of genomics and in March
2005 released a guidance paper on the use of pharmacogenomics (including
toxicogenomics) in drug development. This document and recent presenta-
tions and papers by FDA staff can be found on their dedicated Web site
(www.fda.gov/cder/genomics). Chapter 3 and Chapter 12 discuss in more
detail issues and regulatory implications of genomic data. Some investi-
gators have expressed concerns about the generalized use of toxicogenomics
until factors such as quality control standards are in place, sufficient
proof of concept studies emerge, and the concern about overinterpre-
tation or misinterpretation of genomic data has been addressed (8,11,45).
Hopefully, some of these concerns have been alleviated by the recent spate
of publications arising from the work of the MicroArray Quality Control
(MAQC) project. (The articles can be obtained at the MAQC Web site
www.fda.gov/nctr/science/centers/toxicoinformatics/maqc/.) This consortium
reported good reproducibility of gene expression measurements between and
within platforms using multiple platforms and test sites (46,47) and found
analytical consistency across platforms when evaluating specific toxicogenomic
studies (48). The second phase of this work began in September 2006 and will
provide a venue for individuals from government agencies (FDA, EPA, etc.),
pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, and platform providers to
discuss differing approaches for the identification of biomarkers for preclinical
and clinical use. Whereas some believe that the field of toxicogenomics is
not “ready for prime time,” others embrace its usefulness today in predictive,
mechanistic, and biomarker applications particularly in the investigative and
compound ranking aspects of drug development (2,9,12). Besides the MAQC
efforts, other public efforts are involved in standardizing genomic controls,
32. 18 Mendrick
analysis tools, protocols, and identifying minimal genomic data submissions
requirements. These include the External RNA Controls Consortium (ERCC)
and the HL7/CDISC/I3C Pharmacogenomics Data Standards Committee.
Even if the community can find common ground on data-mining approaches
applied to genomic data, there remains a concern as to biomarker qualification
particularly as a designation of valid confers mandatory submission of such
data with the drug application. Although many use the term validation, Dr.
Woodcock (Deputy Commissioner for Operations and Chief Operating Officer,
FDA) suggested that qualification may be a better term as the former means
many things to different people and tends to remind people of the physical
test and not the underlying biological truth (Woodcock J, Presentation at the
FDA, DIA, PhRMA, BIO, PWG Workshop on Application and validation of
genomic biomarkers for use in drug development and regulatory submissions.
2005. http://www.fda.gov/cder/genomics/presentations.htm). Some uneasiness
exists in the pharmaceutical industry related to how biomarkers will be
validated (i.e., qualified) and how they will learn of this as it does then
elicit reporting requirements. As a beginning, the FDA recently published
examples of valid genomic biomarkers and how they are affecting drug labels
(“Table of Valid Genomic Biomarkers in the Context of Approved Drug
Labels” found at www.fda.gov/cder/genomics/genomic biomarkers table.htm.).
However, because no method exists today for the qualification of biomarkers,
Goodsaid and Frueh in the Office of Clinical Pharmacology (CDER/FDA) have
taken the initiative to propose a process (49). There is an ongoing collabo-
ration between the FDA and Novartis to identify a process map and examine
biomarkers of renal injury in the rat with the goal of extending this work
into man in a consortium to fully validate the biomarkers (Maurer, G, Presen-
tation at the FDA, DIA, PhRMA, BIO, PWG Workshop on Application and
validation of genomic biomarkers for use in drug development and regulatory
submissions. 2005. http://www.fda.gov/cder/genomics/presentations.htm). A
consortium approach will further widespread acceptance of methods to qualify
biomarkers as well as the biomarkers themselves. Chapter 11 will address
public consortia in more detail.
6. Conclusion
Toxicogenomics is posed to augment and improve the safety testing of
compounds but not replace classic testing as some originally proposed. If
applied appropriately with correct study designs, genomics can have widespread
uses in toxicology. It can identify toxicity at doses of compounds that do
not cause overt toxicity as shown by Heinloth and her colleagues at NIEHS
33. Toxicogenomics and Classic Toxicology 19
(18), speed detection of nongenotoxicity as reported by Peter Lord and co-
workers at Johnson and Johnson (19), detect rat-specific effects such as those
induced by PPAR- agonists (15), and identify idiosyncratic compounds prior
to human exposure using predictive models built on exposed primary rat
hepatocytes or rat liver as reported by Hultin-Rosenberg and colleagues at
AstraZeneca (22) and Martin et al. at Millennium Pharmaceuticals (21). More
and more companies are using this new technology in such predictive appli-
cations, mechanistic evaluations, and/or in biomarker discovery. The use of
toxicogenomics and the balance between the three areas tend to be based on the
number of compounds being evaluated among other issues. However, compli-
cating the adoption of toxicogenomics is the interdisciplinary aspect of the field
wherein critical analysis and understanding by people from many backgrounds
including toxicologists, chemists, bioinformaticians, biostatisticians, patholo-
gists, and regulators is needed. It is beneficial to have such individuals together
in discussions of toxicogenomics so each can contribute their expertise to a
facet of the field. Unfortunately, such groups rarely communicate effectively in
large organizations although many pharmaceutical companies are beginning to
realign teams of researchers through discovery and development to better meet
the new demands of successful drug development. Hopefully, new technologies
including toxicogenomics can be used to improve the prediction of drug toxicity
prior to human exposure to provide better guidance in protecting human safety.
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38. 24 Buck et al.
treatments with particular toxicants will essentially always produce a signature
set of genes that can distinguish treatment from control groups. However,
the predictive or diagnostic value of such a signature, as it applies to the
practical toxicologic evaluation of compounds, requires validation as described
in previous chapters. Nonetheless, gene expression signatures that discriminate
based on epiphenomena instead of mechanisms of toxicity may fail to recognize
toxic changes caused by new chemical series. Therefore, establishing gene
expression signatures that are causally linked to a specific toxic process, so-
called phenotypic anchoring, can increase one’s confidence in the value of such
signatures. Signatures can also be developed that will detect the activation of
mechanistically important pathways in test animal species that are known to be
associated with potential toxicity in humans but have no recognized phenotypic
outcomes in test animals.
Toxicogenomic data are also extremely valuable to formulate new hypotheses
regarding the mechanisms responsible for undesirable phenotypic changes.
The extraordinary wealth of information on cell and tissue transcriptomes
gained through microarrays can be combined with annotation libraries to group
expression data into functionally related pathways, a process called pathway
analysis (2). Data collection at multiple time points can further imply cause-
effect relationships between early and later gene expression. Investigation into
mechanisms of toxicity is particularly helpful when a toxic phenotype, such as
hepatocellular hypertrophy, can be caused by a number of distinct molecular
mechanisms. In pharmaceutical discovery and development, efficient assays
can then be designed to screen backup compounds against activation of the
relevant pathway to select less toxic alternatives.
In this chapter, we will first discuss the situation where a single phenotype
(liver hypertrophy) is associated with a number of distinct gene expression
profiles, each of which has unique implications in safety assessment. Second, we
will cover the utility of a cardiotoxic agent to pinpoint mechanisms of toxicity
in a tissue having a limited range of morphologic and functional responses to
injury, such as the heart. Third, the value of toxicogenomics in distinguishing
beneficial, toxic, and incidental mechanisms of estrogens on the uterus will be
explored as it relates to environmental and pharmaceutical toxicology. Fourth,
we will highlight the advantage of using toxicogenomics to screen environ-
mental compounds for testicular toxicity and the challenge of determining a
mechanism of action in this complex tissue. Finally, we will discuss the value
of toxicogenomics in discovering the activation of phenotypically inapparent
cellular stress pathways as a predisposing mechanism for the development of
idiosyncratic drug reactions and the ability to test for these changes in animal
models.
39. Toxicogenomics in Mechanistic Toxicology 25
2. Liver Hypertrophy: One Phenotype with Many Mechanisms
Gene expression profiles allow for a global, detailed evaluation of the
molecular events that precede and accompany toxicity and therefore are
extremely useful to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying various
histopathologic or clinical chemistry changes. This is best illustrated with liver
enlargement, a relatively frequent observation in rodents treated with xenobiotic
agents. There are a variety of mechanisms by which drug-induced hepatomegaly
can occur, including increases in smooth endoplasmic reticulum contents or in
cytochrome P450 monooxygenase activities, peroxisome proliferation, hyper-
trophy of mitochondria, or hepatocellular proliferation (3). In some cases, these
changes are adaptive and are not considered of toxicologic significance (4). In
other cases, these changes are rodent specific and are not considered relevant
to humans, such as peroxisome proliferation (5). In contrast, enzyme induction
responses can sometimes be associated with liver injury, as evidenced by
increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and hepatocellular apoptosis
and necrosis (6,7). Finally, many compounds that induce liver hypertrophy fall
into the category of nongenotoxic carcinogens (NGTCs). NGTCs are agents
that do not cause a direct effect on DNA (i.e., nongenotoxic) yet test positive
in long-term rodent carcinogenicity studies. Whereas the relevance of these
findings to humans is not always clear, a positive result in this bioassay will
result in a tremendous amount of time and resources allocated to identifying the
mechanism and determining its relevance to humans (8). Thus, in the case of
liver hypertrophy, toxicogenomics represents a useful addition to rapidly under-
stand the underlying mechanism, which helps in interpreting and positioning
liver findings.
In one of the pioneering toxicogenomic studies, Hamadeh et al. used gene
expression profiling to distinguish different classes of enzyme inducers (9).
In this study, rats were treated with three peroxisome proliferators (clofibrate,
Wyeth 14,643, and gemfibrozil) and an enzyme inducer (phenobarbital). Pheno-
barbital is known to induce a variety of drug-metabolizing enzymes, including
cytochrome P450 2B (CYP2B), 2C, and 3A (10). Rats treated for a single
day with all compounds showed no histopathologic changes, whereas drug-
related microscopic hepatocellular hypertrophy was observed in the livers of
all animals after 2 weeks of treatment. Gene expression analysis conducted on
the livers from the 24-h–treated rats revealed distinct gene expression patterns
induced by the peroxisome proliferators compared with phenobarbital. Further
refinement of the gene expression analysis identified a set of 22 genes that could
accurately classify blinded liver hypertrophy–inducing compounds as being
either compounds that induce peroxisome proliferation or phenobarbital-like
compounds (9).
40. 26 Buck et al.
In our studies, we have used gene expression analysis to identify the
mechanism underlying liver hypertrophy induced by an experimental anti-
inflammatory agent, A-277249 (6). In this study, treatment of rats for 3 days by
A-277249 resulted in a twofold increase in liver weights, coupled with hepato-
cellular hypertrophy. A toxicogenomic analysis on the livers from treated rats
revealed that A-277749 induced gene expression changes highly similar to those
induced by the aromatic hydrocarbon receptor agonists 3-methylcholanthrene
and Aroclor 1254, including increases in CYP1A1, CYP1B1, and glutathione-S-
transferase (Fig. 1 and Color Plate 1). In addition, the gene expression analysis
suggested that the induction of these enzymes might be driven by the targeted
pharmacological activities of A-277249, making it unlikely that compounds in
this class could be identified that would not result in liver hypertrophy. These
studies allowed for a rapid termination of a program with little probability of
success.
Toxicogenomics has also been applied to demonstrate that fumonisin
mycotoxins cause liver hypertrophy and rodent liver carcinogenicity
independent of the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (PPAR-)
pathway (11). In this study, wild type and PPAR- knockout mice were
treated with fumonisin or Wy-14,463, a prototypical PPAR- agonist. The gene
expression analysis showed that PPAR- was necessary for the regulation of
Fig. 1. Identification of genes regulated in the liver of rats after xenobiotic activation
of the nuclear receptors PPAR-, aromatic hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), or pregnane
X receptor (PXR). The heatmap shows the genes significantly regulated in liver by
several prototypical inducers of the three nuclear receptors. Genes shown in light gray
are either up- or down-regulated relative to vehicle-treated control, and genes shown in
black are unchanged. These data were extracted from the Iconix DrugMatrix database.
(see Color Plate 1).
41. Toxicogenomics in Mechanistic Toxicology 27
lipid metabolism genes associated with liver hypertrophy in Wy-14,463–treated
mice, whereas treatment with fumonisin resulted in similar expression changes
for the lipid metabolism genes in both wild type and PPAR- knockout mice.
These results confirmed that mouse liver carcinogenicity induced by fumonisin
was independent of PPAR-, thus suggesting that the toxicity induced by
fumonisin is not necessarily species-specific in contrast with what is seen with
PPAR- agonists.
A number of studies have attempted to apply toxicogenomics in order
to identify compounds associated with liver hypertrophy that are likely to
test positive in long-term rodent carcinogenicity studies. Identifying these
compounds early would result in significant savings in time and resources
and would allow for the prioritization of compounds unlikely to test positive
in long-term carcinogenicity studies. Fielden et al. (12) used gene expression
data from rats treated for 5 days with more than 100 structurally and mecha-
nistically diverse nongenotoxic hepatocarcinogens and non-hepatocarcinogens.
From these data, the authors identified a gene expression signature consisting
of 37 genes that could classify hepatocarcinogens and non-hepatocarcinogens
with 86% and 81% sensitivity and specificity, respectively. In addition, by
comparing the gene expression data with a reference database, this signature can
provide an understanding of potential modes of action for hepatic tumorigenicity
such as regenerative proliferation, proliferation associated with xenobiotic
receptor activation, peroxisome proliferation, and steroid hormone–mediated
mechanisms.
A similar approach was taken by Nie et al. (13). In this study, male rats
were treated for 1 day with 52 compounds, 24 of which were NGTCs and
28 were non-carcinogens. Microarray analysis on the livers from treated rats
revealed a set of six genes that could distinguish NGTCs from non-carcinogenic
compounds. Further work is under way to verify the robustness of these signa-
tures across different laboratories and gene expression platforms. Nonetheless,
these early proof-of-concept studies suggest that gene expression analysis repre-
sents a valid approach toward distinguishing NGTCs from non-carcinogens
using short-term rodent studies. Overall, the toxicologic relevance of rodent
liver hypertrophy to humans is variable and highly dependent on the underlying
mechanism. Without an understanding of the mechanism, potentially safe and
efficacious compounds may be deprioritized for further development. Thus,
the application of gene expression analysis toward identifying the mechanism
underlying drug-induced liver hypertrophy represents a clear example of how
toxicogenomics can complement traditional toxicologic end points and bring
value as a safety evaluation tool.
42. 28 Buck et al.
3. Cardiotoxicity: Use of a Tool Compound to Dissect
the Mechanism of Toxicity
The heart is a relatively common target organ of toxicity for pharmaceu-
tical, natural, or industrial agents. For pharmaceutical agents, hepatic toxicity is
probably the most common toxicity identified, but cardiac toxicity is sufficiently
prevalent to warrant interest by toxicologists. For the toxicologist in devel-
opment, pharmaceutical agents can be withdrawn from the market because of
cardiovascular toxicity or development compounds can be terminated because
of the discovery of unanticipated cardiac toxic changes in chronic toxicology
studies. For the discovery toxicologist, the challenge may be in selecting devel-
opment candidates that will not induce development-limiting cardiovascular
toxicology. Current systems to monitor functional deficits of the cardiovascular
system are robust enough to ensure the safety of patients involved in clinical
trials or prescribed agents with potential cardiac effects. In contrast, there is
a lack of robust biomarkers to detect, assess, and monitor the progression of
cardiac structural damage or altered cellular homeostasis (14). Therefore, there
is a significant interest in avoiding compounds that may affect myocardiocyte
homeostasis or cause structural damage.
Histologic changes induced by cardiac toxicants are relatively limited in
nature and usually are characterized by myocardiocyte degeneration, apoptosis,
or necrosis. In addition, cardiac toxicity may be identified in subacute to chronic
studies, at a time when the toxicity is well advanced and when it is difficult
to formulate hypotheses regarding mechanisms. Ultrastructural evaluation may
allow for an increased definition of the morphologic changes. For instance,
mitochondrial swelling in degenerating cells is considered a good indication
that mitochondria represent a primary target organelle of toxicity. However,
for the most part, morphologic changes observed by histopathology or electron
microscopy reveal no real clue regarding mechanism of cardiac toxicity. Gene
expression profiling represents a unique approach to rapidly generate a vast
amount of molecular data relevant to the toxic event and to use these data
to formulate hypotheses that can then be confirmed or refuted in follow-up
experiments. This concept will be illustrated in this section using literature
examples but also a specific case example that we have encountered in our
internal discovery programs.
Doxorubicin represents the ideal tool compound to interrogate cardiac
toxicity, and consequently doxorubicin has been extensively used in the liter-
ature for biochemical studies of cardiac toxicity. Doxorubicin is an anthra-
cycline antibiotic with broad-spectrum chemotherapeutic activity. The use of
this agent is however limited by its cardiotoxicity, which may occur months
to years after treatment (15). The toxicity also occurs in animals, providing
excellent preclinical models to understand the mechanism of cardiotoxicity of
43. Toxicogenomics in Mechanistic Toxicology 29
the anthracycline antibiotics. One of the proposed mechanisms of cardiotoxicity
involves the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) via redox cycling of
the semiquinone radical intermediate (16,17). ROS formation results in damage
to cellular macromolecules, such as DNA, proteins, or lipids (17). In particular,
cardiac mitochondria are considered the principal early organelle of toxicity
due to damage by the ROS or disturbances in mitochondrial homeostasis (16).
The cardiotoxicity of doxorubicin is difficult to detect after a single dose
in the rat with serum chemistry and light microscopy (18). In contrast, large
numbers of relevant gene expression changes can be detected in the heart shortly
after treatment with doxorubicin, and these early transcriptomic effects are
useful to unravel the mechanism of toxicity. In various internal gene profiling
studies, we have demonstrated that doxorubicin affects biological pathways
related to mitochondrial function and calcium regulation, thereby demonstrating
that gene expression profiles represent an ideal tool for hypothesis gener-
ation. Interestingly, these transcriptomic changes indicative of mitochondrial
dysfunction occurred well before decreased ATP production, which can be
shown using isolated mitochondria from the heart of doxorubicin-treated rats
(19,20). This reinforces the concept that gene expression changes most relevant
to the mechanism of toxicity can occur well before actual organelle dysfunction.
This property is very useful and can represent a very effective approach to
select exploratory compounds without cardiac toxicity liabilities. This is best
illustrated by a recent study that our discovery organization published (21).
Our team was interested in developing inhibitors of acetyl-coA carboxylase
(ACC) as potential therapeutic agents for hyperlipidemia. Evaluation of the
early series revealed neurologic and cardiovascular liabilities in preclinical
models, precluding further evaluation of this chemotype. This prompted us to
investigate the mechanism of toxicity of this series, in an effort to develop a
counterscreen that could be used in the selection of backup compounds. Briefly,
male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated daily with toxic doses of the exploratory
compounds for 3 days. Doxorubicin was used as a positive control in this study.
As expected, no evidence of cardiotoxicity was evident after this short-term
dosing period when evaluating histopathologic sections and serum chemistry
panels. In contrast, the gene expression profiles induced in the heart by these
compounds were very similar to those induced by doxorubicin, confirming
their cardiotoxic liability and also suggesting similar mechanisms of toxicity.
DrugMatrix is a commercial database that contains gene expression profiles
of multiple organs of rats treated with a wide variety of pharmaceutical and
toxicologic agents (22). When these gene expression changes were compared
with those present in the DrugMatrix commercial database, the expression
profiles from the ACC inhibitors had strong correlations with a number of
reference expression profiles, especially profiles induced by cardiotoxicants or
44. 30 Buck et al.
cardiotonic agents, such as cyclosporin A, haloperidol, or norepinephrine, again
suggesting cardiotoxic liability. Finally, when the gene expression changes were
analyzed in the context of biological pathways, the mitochondrial oxidative
phosphorylation pathway was mostly affected. Overall, these results indicated
that this series of compounds had cardiotoxic liability due to a mechanism very
similar to that of doxorubicin. This rapid mechanistic understanding allowed
us to rapidly select safer chemotypes for this program by ensuring the lack of
similar transcriptomic effects in the hearts of treated rats.
4. Estrogenic Activity: Complex Mechanisms Arising from Similarly
Acting Compounds
Compounds with hormone-mimetic effects have the potential to influence
fetal and prepubertal development, fertility, and mammary and reproductive
carcinogenesis. The significance for carcinogenesis in high-dose screening
studies depends, in part, on the particular hormone pathways that are activated
or inhibited (23). The contribution of toxicogenomics for understanding
the mechanisms of action and toxicity for individual estrogenic compounds
screened in the rat uterotropic assay is discussed after a brief review of the
complexities of estrogen signaling.
Estrogen effects are mediated by nuclear-mediated and membrane-mediated
mechanisms. Nuclear-mediated estrogen effects employ the estrogen receptor
alpha (ER-) and, recently discovered in 1996, the estrogen receptor beta
(ER-) (24). ER- and ER- are encoded by separate genes with unique devel-
opmental and tissue distributions and each undergoes alternative splicing to
form multiple isoforms (25,26). In the presence of estradiol, the nuclear estrogen
receptors undergo dimerization and activate transcription by binding to the
estrogen response element. ER- recruitment of transcription initiation factors
is less efficient than that of ER-, and these two estrogen receptors tend to have
opposing effects within a particular cell (26). The ER- isoform ER- 46 has
a truncated N-terminus and is unable to bind to the estrogen response element,
but when palmitoylated, it can associate with the Shc adapter protein and the
insulin-like growth factor I receptor (IGF-IR) to transduce signals from the
plasma membrane upon binding to estrogen (27). Membrane-mediated estrogen
effects are responsible for fast signaling events that have been described in
vascular endothelium, neurons, and the myometrium. Direct phosphorylation
of estrogen receptors by mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and growth
factor receptors alters ER binding to coactivators and corepressors causing
altered function in nuclear-mediated pathways (28). Additionally, an orphan
G-protein–coupled receptor, GPR30, is estrogen responsive independent of
45. Toxicogenomics in Mechanistic Toxicology 31
nuclear receptors through activation of adenylyl cyclase (29). The conver-
gence of membrane and nuclear estrogen signaling results in the modulation
of transcription and cell function beyond those genes with estrogen response
elements in their promoters (30,31). Nuclear estrogen receptors undergo confor-
mational changes when bound to ligand that reveal binding sites for coactivators
and corepressors that have chromatin remodeling activity (28). The coacti-
vators are targets for modulation by signal transduction cascades themselves
and are shared with other nuclear receptors leading to cross-talk between
pathways (32,33). ER tethering to other transcription factors, such as HIF-1
and Sp1, also allows estrogen signaling to modulate genes lacking an estrogen
response element (34,35). Finally, xenoestrogens and selective estrogen receptor
modifiers (SERMs) each have distinct profiles of ER binding and recruitment
of cofactors leading to diverse transcriptional responses (28). The complexity of
estrogen signaling makes predictive modeling of tissue-specific gene expression
difficult, but a genomics approach linking gene expression to mechanisms of
action is proving useful for evaluating risks in both environmental and pharma-
ceutical toxicology.
The toxicogenomics approach to linking gene expression and mechanism of
action can be thought of in a stepwise manner. First, compounds are admin-
istered and gene expression profiles are collected from the tissue of interest.
For example, the role of estradiol in rat uterus gene expression was studied
by Wu and colleagues (36). Estradiol was found to be necessary and suffi-
cient for inducing the expression of a number of genes. Second, classifi-
cation of estrogen-responsive genes according to annotations in gene databases
using a predefined vocabulary (http://www.geneontology.org) allows specu-
lative association of gene changes with observed phenotypic changes (37). For
example, Naciff and colleagues examined gene expression changes in prepu-
bertal rat uterus after treatment with 17-ethynyl estradiol, an estrogenic drug
with estradiol-like effects (38). They associated phenotypic changes of ethynyl
estradiol–treated uterus (such as edema and hyperemia) with genes known
to effect vascular function (e.g., vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF]
and cysteine-rich protein 61). Third, these gene-phenotype associations can be
experimentally directly tested. For example, Heryanto and colleagues admin-
istered estradiol in ovariectomized rats and analyzed blood vessel and stromal
cell density in the presence and absence of an antibody to VEGF (39). The
antibody caused increased stromal cell density, which was interpreted as having
blocked uterine edema. Thus, the observation of uterine edema is phenotypi-
cally anchored to VEGF gene expression. Fourth, experimentally proven gene-
phenotype associations can be used for screening future agents for undesirable
toxic effects when the phenotype is below the sensitivity of detection or does
not present itself in the model system used.
46. 32 Buck et al.
Toxicogenomics can enhance the sensitivity of screening assays for pharma-
cological effect. For example, phytoestrogens are present in laboratory animal
feed containing soy, but it is unclear whether or not they interfere with the
uterotropic assay for screening potential endocrine disruptors for estrogenic
effects. Naciff and colleagues (40) found gene expression analysis to be more
sensitive to estrogenic compound administration than phenotypic markers (i.e.,
wet uterus weight). Therefore, they performed gene expression analysis on
prepubertal rats fed a phytoestrogen-containing diet compared with rats treated
with a phenotypically subthreshold dose of ethynyl estradiol (41). None of
the animals had detectable changes in uterine wet weight. Gene expression
was altered on the phytoestrogen-containing diet, but there were no genes
in common between the subthreshold estrogen control and the phytoestrogen
diet. The conclusion was that phytoestrogen-containing feed does not interfere
with uterotropic screening assays. As a second example, the objective of a
pharmaceutical project was to develop a new SERM with significantly reduced
incidence of pelvic organ prolapse, which is a side effect of estrogen therapy,
while preserving the beneficial antiproliferative effects in breast and uterine
tissue and osteoprotective effects. Unfortunately, the rat uterotropic assay does
not distinguish SERMs that predispose to pelvic organ prolapse. Helvering and
colleagues have associated increased matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) gene
expression with a greater risk of prolapse in humans and then translated this
finding to comparative microarray analysis of rat uterine gene expression using
multiple SERMs (42). If MMP2 is proven to be involved in the mechanisms
leading to pelvic organ prolapse, it could be exploited as a reliable indicator
against which to screen compounds in laboratory animal species for the relative
risk of this complication in humans.
5. Testicular Toxicity: Defining Toxic Mechanisms
in a Complex Tissue
Compared with studies in the liver or kidney, there have been few published
studies using gene expression profiling to investigate mechanisms of testicular
toxicity. Yet, testicular toxicity is not uncommon during the development of
pharmaceutical agents and can represent a challenge, as it may not be detected
morphologically until chronic studies are conducted, but also because early
histopathologic changes can be very subtle and can easily be missed unless
more sophisticated techniques, such as tubular staging, are used (43). Current
biomarkers of toxicity (such as serum follicular stimulating hormone or semen
analysis) are not robust enough to detect early changes both in preclinical studies
and in clinical trials. A recent working group sponsored by the Institutional
Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) Health and Environmental Sciences Institute
47. Toxicogenomics in Mechanistic Toxicology 33
(HESI) has tried to address this issue through an evaluation of additional
biomarkers, such as Inhibin B (44). Data released do not suggest that plasma
inhibin B represents a marker sufficiently sensitive to detect modest testicular
dysfunction in rats. Because sensitive biomarkers are currently lacking, gene
expression profiling represents a potentially useful approach to develop an
improved understanding of the various mechanisms of testicular toxicity. This
improved understanding could ultimately be used to discover new sensitive
markers of testicular injury. This is of particular interest to the pharmaceutical
industry, but especially in the field of environmental toxicology, as a significant
number of pesticides and other environmental toxicants have known testicular
effects.
Investigating the mechanism of testicular toxicity can be quite challenging,
given the complexity of the testis as a tissue, but also the complexity of the
regulatory mechanisms for testicular function. The testis is composed of several
different cell types characterized by unique functional and morphologic features
but having close paracrine interactions and complex cellular interdependence.
In vitro models have been used to circumvent this complexity, but ultimately
these models do not reflect the paracrine interactions occurring in the tissue.
Furthermore, cell lines of Sertoli or Leydig cell origin have lost major functional
characteristics, and primary cultures of testicular cells require significant
resources of time and can only be used for short-term experiments. For instance,
Leydig cell cultures are frequently used to interrogate specific mechanisms of
toxicity. Cultures are prepared with Percoll gradient centrifugation methods
but are usually not pure, and preparations only yield a limited number of cells
that need to be used shortly after preparations. These primary cultures are,
however, extremely useful to confirm or refute hypotheses. For instance, adult
Leydig cells were used to further understand the mechanism by which Aroclor
1254, a polychlorinated biphenyl, disrupts gonadal function (45). By reverse
transcription PCR, the authors demonstrated treatment-induced downregulation
of the transcripts of various enzymes involved in steroidogenesis. These results
coupled with a demonstration of decreased basal and luteinizing hormone (LH)-
stimulated testosterone and estradiol production confirmed that Leydig cells
represent a primary target cell for Aroclor 1254 and that the mechanism of
toxicity was partly related to an effect of steroidogenesis. A similar approach
will be illustrated in a subsequent example.
Several studies have used gene expression profiling to investigate the
molecular basis of testicular toxicity (46–51). For instance, testicular gene
expression profiles were generated using a custom nylon DNA array and
evaluated after exposure of mice to bromochloroacetic acid, a known testicular
toxicant. Transcript changes were detected involving genes with known
functions in fertility, such as Hsp70-2 and SP22, as well as genes encoding
48. 34 Buck et al.
proteins involved in cell communication, adhesion, and signaling, supporting
the hypothesis that the toxicologic effect was the result of disruption of cellular
interactions between Sertoli cells and spermatids (49,52). Several studies
have investigated using genomics technologies to identify the mechanisms
of testicular toxicity associated with exposure to di(n-butyl) phthalate (DBP)
(50,53). DBP is a plasticizer widely used in products such as food wraps, blood
bags, and cosmetics (54). Because of its wide use, levels of DBP metabolites
are detectable in human urine (55). DBP is a male reproductive toxicant, and the
developing testis is a primary target through a suspected antiandrogenic effect
(56). Using fetal rat testes exposed in utero to DBP, Shultz et al. evaluated
global changes in gene expression and demonstrated reduced expression of
several steroidogenic enzymes, thereby providing a molecular mechanism for
the antiandrogenic effect of this agent (50). These findings are nicely supported
by and explained at the molecular level by other investigations showing that
DPB impairs cholesterol transport and steroidogenesis in the fetal rat testis (57).
Likewise, a recent study investigated the mechanisms of toxicity associated
with the triazole fungicides (51). It is known that these agents can modulate in
mammalian species many cytochrome mixed function oxidase (CYP) enzymes
that are involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics and endogenous molecules.
Testicular toxicity associated with these agents is typically not detected until
chronic or reproductive studies are conducted. Using custom oligonucleotide
microarrays, the authors confirmed that these agents altered the expression
of many CYPs and affected the sterol and steroid metabolic pathways in the
testis. Although these studies are preliminary, they do suggest several plausible
mechanisms of toxicity that need to be further interrogated with specifically
designed follow-up experiments.
In the pharmaceutical industry, the primary objective of gene expression
profiling studies in the testis is to develop approaches that would allow one
to weed out potential testicular toxicants at an early stage in the candidate
selection process in order to avoid compound termination at an advanced
stage of development. A recent study used this approach (58). Using four
prototypical testicular toxicants, this study evaluated whether gene expression
profiling could facilitate the identification of compounds with testicular toxicity
liabilities. In this study, gene expression profiles were generated 6 h after
dosing. Not surprisingly, histopathologic changes were absent, except for
one agent. However, the microarray analysis identified several differentially
expressed genes that were consistent with the known action of the toxicants.
Our laboratory has also evaluated this approach. However, in contrast with the
above studies, our gene expression profiles were generated 1 and 4 days after
treatment with the prototypical toxicants. As expected, these treatments did not
result in significant histopathologic changes, although all toxicants used in the
50. eläinparka oli kuollut. Silmät olivat pullistuneet päästä, kieli riippui
ulkona ja turpa oli vaahdossa. Otin sen syliini, koetin tulen edessä
herätellä sitä eloon — mahdotonta. Suruni lemmikkini
kadottamisesta oli sitä suurempi, koska en voinut olla vapaa
omantunnon tuskista. Minun täytyi syyttää itseäni sen kuolemaan
syypääksi, sillä en voinut muuta otaksua kun että se kuoli kauhusta.
Mutta kuinka hämmästyinkään nähdessäni, että sillä oli niska poikki,
sillä kun lähemmin tarkastin, huomasin sen kaulanikamien
vääntyneen irti selkärangasta. Eiköhän se ollut tapahtunut pimeässä
ja samallaisen käden kautta kuin minunkin oli? Eiköhän inhimilliset
voimat sittenkin olleet koko ajan vaikuttaneet tapahtumiin tässä
huoneessa? Monta syytä näytti olevan tähän otaksumiseen. Todistaa
en sitä voi, voin ainoastaan yksinkertaisesti kertoa mitä omilla
silmilläni näin. Lukija voi itse tehdä omat johtopäätöksensä.
Päivän nousuun saakka ei mitään enää tapahtunut. Ensimäisen
auringonsäteen esiin pilkistäessä jätin kummitustalon. Ennenkuin
lähdin, kävin kerran vielä siinä pienessä, tyhjässä huoneessa, josta ei
ole uloskäytävää, ja jossa olin palvelijani kera vankina. En voinut olla
ajattelematta, että sillä voimalla, joka kaiken kauhun oli saanut
aikaan, oli sijansa juuri tuossa pienessä huoneessa. Vaikkakin menin
sinne nyt selvällä päivällä ja aurinko kirkkaasti loisti likaisten
ikkunaruutujen lävitse, valtasi minut jälleen yön kauhu. En voinut
pakottaa itseäni olemaan siellä enempää kuin noin puoli minuuttia.
Menin portaita alas ja taasen kuulin edelläni askeleita; ja kun suljin
oven, olin kuulevinani hiljaista naurua.
Menin kotiin. Otaksuin sieltä löytäväni karkuripalvelijani, mutta hän
ei ollut sinne palannut. Seuraavinakaan päivinä en hänestä mitään
kuullut, kunnes vihdoin sain häneltä Liverpoolista seuraavan kirjeen:
Kunnioitettavin herra, pyydän nöyrimmin teiltä anteeksi, vaikka
51. tuskin voin toivoa että pidätte minua sen arvoisena, olkoonpa että
tekin — mistä taivas kuitenkin lie teitä varjellut — näitte sen mitä
minä näin. Minusta tuntuu että vuosia kuluu, ennenkuin pääsen
entiselleni. En enää kelpaa palvelijaksi, siitä ei ole epäilemistäkään,
sentähden matkustan lankoni luo Melbourneen. Huomenna laiva
lähtee. Mahdollisesti rauhoitun jälleen tällä pitkällä matkalla.
Kymmenenkin kertaa päivässä hätkähdän ja joka jäseneni vapisee;
minusta tuntuu niinkuin tuo olisi yhä takanani. Pyydän teitä
nöyrimmin, arvoisa herra, lähettämään kaikki sinne jääneet tavarani
ja loput palkastani äidilleni Walworthiin. — Johan tietää hänen
osoitteensa.
Kirje loppui monilla anteeksi pyynnöillä sekä yksityiskohtaisilla
selityksillä asioista, jotka koskivat hänen palvelustaan.
Varmaankin lienee monelle tämä pako Australiaan todistuksena
siitä, että tämä mies oli tavalla tai toisella petollisessa yhteydessä
yön tapahtumien kanssa. En väitä näitä otaksumisia vastaan, mutta
luulen kuitenkin, että ne ovat suurimmalle osalle helpoimpana
selityksenä näihin yliluonnollisiin asioihin.
Illalla palasin jälleen kummituspaikalle hakemaan tavaroitani ja
koiraparkani ruumista. Ei minua silloin mikään häirinnyt, eikä mitään
outoa sattunut, paitsi että portaita noustessani ja laskeutuessani
kuulin jälleen askeleiden sipsuttavan edelläni.
Lähdettyäni talosta menin herra J:n luo ja tapasin hänet kotoa.
Annoin avaimen hänelle takaisin, vakuuttaen että uteliaisuuteni oli
täydellisesti tyydytetty. Rupesin juuri kertomaan hänelle, mitä oli
tapahtunut, kun hän keskeytti minut ja sanoi kohteliaasti, että hän
oli kadottanut kaiken mielenkiinnon salaisuuteen, jonka perille ei
kuitenkaan koskaan pääsisi. Siitä huolimatta päätin ainakin kertoa
52. kirjeistä, jotka olin lukenut, sekä niitten kummallisesta katoamisesta
ja kysyin häneltä, luuliko hän niitten olevan osoitettuja äsken
kuolleelle talonhoitajattarelle; eiköhän hänen elämästään löytäisi
vastausta niihin hämäriin otaksumiin, joihin kirjeissä viitattiin?
J. näytti hämmästyneeltä ja hetkisen mietittyään sanoi hän: En
tiedä paljoa tuon vaimon entisistä elämänvaiheista, ainoastaan sen,
että hän on ollut perheeni tuttu. Kuitenkin herätätte muistooni jotain
hänelle epäedullista. Tahdon ottaa asiasta selkoa ja aikanaan kertoa
teille tulokset. Mutta jos hän olisikin johonkin rikokseen syypää ja me
uskoisimme siihen, että olennon, joka on täällä maan päällä ollut
jonkun selvittämättömän rikoksen tekijänä tai uhrina, täytyisi palata
ja rauhattomana haamuna käyskennellä sillä paikalla jossa rikos on
tapahtunut, niin täytyy minun vastata tähän, että talossa kuului
kolinaa ja näkyi outoja näkyjä jo ennenkuin tämä vanhus siellä kuoli.
Te hymyilette, mitä tahdotte sanoa?
— Luulen että jos pääsemme asiasta selville, huomaamme kyllä
inhimillisten olentojen vaikutusta näissä tapahtumissa.
— Mitä? Te pidätte siis koko kummittelua ainoastaan petoksena?
Ja mistä syystä?
— En petoksena sanan täydessä merkityksessä — enempää kuin
sitäkään, jos voisin, esimerkiksi syvään uneen vaipuneena, josta ette
minua voisi herättää, vastata kysymyksiin selvyydellä, joka hereillä
ollessani olisi minulle mahdotonta. Jos voisin sanoa teille, paljonko
rahaa on kukkarossanne, tai lukea ajatuksenne, niin en pitäisi sitä
petoksena enempää kuin yliluonnollisenakaan. Olen silloin
tietämättäni eläinmagnetismin vaikutuksen alaisena, jota joku
kaukana oleva, minulle ennen tuntematon henkilö, minua kohtaan
suuntaa. Löytynee kai eläinsähkölle sukua oleva, jopa
53. voimakkaampikin voima; — ennen muinoin sitä sanottiin magiaksi,
salaisvoimaksi tai -opiksi. Mahdollisesti sellainen voima on myös
vainajissa, nimittäin niin, että sen vaikutus ulottuu ainoastaan
joihinkin määrättyihin ajatuksiin ja muistoihin, eikä siihen osaan, jota
oikeastaan sanomme sieluksi, sillä se on kuoleman jälkeen kaikesta
maallisesta irti. Se voima ulottunee, kuten sanottu ainoastaan siihen
osaan, joka on maallinen ja synnillinen, ja siten aistiemme
käsitettävissä. Tämä on kuitenkin vanhentunut teoria, jota en voi
arvostella. Sittenkään en mitenkään usko niitä voimia, jotka tässä
toimivat, yliluonnollisiksi. Sallitteko minun esimerkillä selittää teille,
mitä tarkoitan. Paracelsus pitää seuraavaa koetta helppona ja
myöhemmät kirjailijat uskovat siihen myöskin. Kukka kuolee, te
poltatte sen. Olkoon kukka millainen tahansa, tuhkana ei sitä
miksikään tunne. Kuitenkin voi kemiallisen prosessin avulla kukan
tuhkasta saada värispektrumin, joka hyvin muistuttaa tuota elävää
kukkaa. Samoinhan voi olla elävien ihmistenkin laita. Sielu on poissa,
kuten tuoksu, kukan sielu. Kuitenkin voi synnyttää väri-ilmiön, jota
taikauskoiset voivat pitää poismenneen sieluna. Se ei ole muuta kuin
kuolleen ruumiin kuva. Siten on myös selvitettävissä se, että kaikkein
parhaistakin kummitusjutuista aina säännöllisesti puuttuu — kaikki
sielullinen, ylevä henki. Kummitukset esiintyvät enimmiten
vähäpätöisten tai aivan olemattomien syiden vuoksi, puhuvat harvoin
ja silloinkin tuskin mitään, joka kohoaisi jokapäiväisten ajatusten
tasoa ylemmäs. Amerikalaisilla spiritisteillä on kokonaisia nidoksia
suorasanaista ja runomittaista kirjallisuutta, joka muka olisi suurten
kuolleiden kuten Shakespeare'n, Baco'n, ja luoja tiesi keiden
sanelemaa. Vaikka tarkastelisimme parhaita tällaisia vainajien
ilmoituksia, eivät ne ole hituistakaan parempia, kuin mitä tavallisin
lahjakas kasvatuksen saanut kuolevainen voi kuvitella. Ne ovat
paljoa huonompia kuin mitä Baco, Shakespeare ja Plato sanoivat ja
54. kirjoittivat elossa ollessaan. Silmiinpistävää on myös, etteivät ne
sisällä ainoatakaan uutta ajatusta.
— Minä puolestani pidän kaikkia näitä ilmiöitä ainoastaan
ajatuksina, jotka jollain tuntemattomalla tavalla kulkevat kuolevaisen
aivoista toiseen. Olkoonpa, että pöydät itsestään liikkuisivat,
pirulliset haamut näyttäytyisivät salaperäisen sädekehän
ympäröiminä tai ruumiittomat kädet sukeltaisivat esiin ja tarttuisivat
kiinni näkyviin esineihin, tai että joku hämärä, outo, kuten minä
näin, saisi veremme jähmettymään. Uskon varmasti, että kaikki
ainoastaan olisi vierasten aivojen sähkölankojen kautta
tapahtunutta vaikutusta aivoihini. Löytyy luonnollisia sähkövoimasia
ruumiita ja nämä voivat aikaansaada magneettisia ihmeitä; toisissa
on taas jonkunmoista luonnollista fluidumia, sähköä, jos niin
tahdotte, ja nekin voivat tehdä sähköihmeitä. Molemmat eroavat
normaali-tieteestä ja ovat sille aivan tarkoituksettomia,
tuloksettomia ja arvottomia. Ne eivät vie mihinkään korkeaan
päämäärään, ja sentähden ei maailma niistä välitä eikä todellinen
tiede ole tätä voimaa ihmisessä viljellyt. Uskon varmasti, että
kaikella, mitä kuulin ja näin, on lihasta ja verestä oleva olento, kuten
minäkin, kaukaisena aikaansaajana ja täydellisesti tietämättömänä
seurauksista. Luulen, että tästä syystä ei kaksi henkilöä, kuten
kerroitte, ole samaa kokenut. Jos koko kummittelu johtuisi
tavallisesta petoksesta, olisi koneisto niin järjestetty, että vain pienet
poikkeukset tavallisesta olisivat mahdollisia. Jos ne olisivat
yliluonnollisia, luojan sallimuksella toimivia voimia, olisi niillä varmasti
joku päämäärä. Nämä ilmiöt eivät kuulu kumpaankaan luokkaan.
Päinvastoin olen vakuutettu siitä, että ne lähtevät aivoista, jotka ovat
kaukana meistä, ja että nämä aivot eivät tarkoituksella aiheuta sitä,
mitä tapahtuu, vaan että nämä tapahtumat vain kuvastavat niiden
harhailevia kirjavia, vähän vaihtelevia puolinaisia ajatuksia. Lyhyesti,
55. se mitä on tapahtunut, ei ole ollut mitään muuta kuin tuollaisten
aivojen todellistuneita unia, aivojen, jotka todella voivat osittain
ruumiillistua. Näillä aivoilla lienee suunnaton voima, niin että se voi
panna liikkeelle pahansuopia ja hävittäviä välikappaleita, sillä
sellainen voima oli selvästi koirani tappanut. Todennäköisesti olisi se
tappanut minutkin, jos olisin joutunut samallaisen pelon valtaan kuin
koira, elleivät järkeni ja henkiset voimani olisi antaneet minulle
vastustusvoimaa.
— Sekö on tappanut koiranne? Sehän on kauheata!
— Todellakin, on hyvin outoa, ettei mitään eläimiä koskaan ole
saatu viihtymään tässä talossa, ei edes kissaakaan; ei ole siellä
näkynyt rottia eikä hiiriäkään. Eläimet varmaan tuntevat vaistollaan
heille kuolettavien voimien vaikutusta. Tässä kohden on ihmisen
ymmärrys vähemmän luotettava. Mutta kylliksi tästä. Ymmärrättekö
teoriani?
— Kyllä, ainakin osapuilleen, ja hyväksyn mielelläni minkä hyvänsä
järkevään päin olevan selityksen mieluummin kuin uskon tässä
haamujen ja tonttujen peliään pitävän — sillä nehän kuuluvat
lastenkamariin. Mutta mitä ihmeessä teen minä talolle?
— Sanon teille, miten teidän on tähän asiaan ryhtyminen. Se
otaksuma että tuo pieni kalustamaton huone makuuhuoneen
vieressä on koko kummittelun lähtöpaikka, näyttää minusta
epäämättömän varmalta. Aivan tosissani annan siis teille sen
neuvon, että revitte muurit ja hävitätte koko huoneen. Huomasin
nimittäin, että se on rakennettu muista huoneista ulkonevasti
erikseen takapihalle ja että sen siis taloa vahingoittamatta voi
hävittää.
56. — Luuletteko todellakin, että jos sen tekisin, nuo sähkövirrat sillä
häviäisivät?
— Koettakaa. Olen niin varmasti vakuutettu siitä, etten erehdy,
että mielihyvällä otan osalleni puolet kustannuksista, eritoten jos
vielä uskotte minulle työn johdon.
— Se ei tule kysymykseenkään, kustannukset maksan itse,
kaikesta tulette saamaan tarkat tiedot.
Noin kymmenen päivää sen jälkeen sain herra J:ltä kirjeen. Hän oli
itse käynyt talossa sekä löytänyt nuo kaksi kirjettä siitä samasta
paikasta, mistä minä olin ne ottanut. Ne olivat herättäneet hänessä
samat epäilykset kuin minussakin, ja hän oli koettanut mitä
huolellisimmin ottaa selkoa tuosta naisesta, jolle ne olivat osoitetut.
Näytti siltä, että tämä nainen oli mennyt naimisiin vasten
vanhempainsa tahtoa, vieläpä erään sangen epäilyttävän
amerikalaisen kanssa — häntä pidettiin yleensä merirosvona. Nainen
itse oli kunniallisen kauppiaan tytär ja ammatiltaan opettajatar.
Hänellä oli hyvissä varoissa elävä veli, joka oli leski ja jolla oli 6-
vuotias lapsi. Vuosi avioliiton jälkeen löydettiin tämän veljen ruumis
Thames-virrasta, aivan Lontoonsillan luota. Hänen kaulassansa näkyi
väkivallan merkkejä, mutta ei niitä pidetty kylliksi riittävinä
muuttamaan ruumiinkatsastuksen tulosta: tapaturmaisesti hukkunut.
— Amerikalainen ja hänen vaimonsa ottivat lapsen kasvattaakseen
kuten kuollut velikin oli viimeisenä tahtonaan ilmoittanut;
testamentissa oli samalla määrätty, että jos lapsi kuolee, perii
omaisuuden sisar. Lapsi kuoli noin kuusi kuukautta myöhemmin;
huhuttiin että sen kasvatusta oli laiminlyöty ja sitä pidelty pahoin.
Sanoivatpa naapurit kuulleensa sen öisin huutavankin. Lääkäri, joka
tutki lapsen ruumiin, todensi, että se oli kuollut riittämättömästä
57. ravinnosta; ruumiissa saattoi huomata myös mustankeltaisia
mustelmia. Näytti siltä kuin olisi pienokainen koettanut paeta eräänä
talviyönä, hiipinyt takapihalle ja yrittänyt kiivetä muurin yli;
nääntyneenä oli se kuitenkin pudonnut pihalle, josta se aamulla oli
kuolevana löydetty. Joskin siis saattoi epäillä harjoitetun kamalaa
julmuutta, niin murhaa ei kuitenkaan voitu sanoa tapahtuneen. Täti
ja hänen miehensä koettivat asiaa peitellä — kertomalla lapsen aivan
erikoisesta vastustushalusta ja kovapäisyydestä, sanoen häntä jopa
tylsämieliseksikin.
Miten hyvänsä, tuo nainen peri nyt pienen orvon kuoleman jälkeen
veljensä omaisuuden. Mutta ennenkuin heidän avioliittonsa
ensimäinenkään vuosi oli kulunut katosi mies äkkiä Englannista,
enää koskaan takasin palaamatta. Hän vuokrasi risteilijän, joka teki
kaksi vuotta myöhemmin Atlannilla haaksirikon. Leski jäi tosin hyviin
varoihin, mutta hänelle tapahtui kaikellaisia onnettomuuksia. Eräs
pankki teki vararikon, hyvin sijoitettu pääoma oli menetetty; hän osti
erään liikkeen, mutta menetti siinä lopunkin omaisuudestaan; hoiti
taloudenhoitajattaren toimia, mennen kuitenkin yhä enemmän
alaspäin, kunnes lopulta päätyi siivoojattareksi. Hän ei pysynyt
missään, vaikkakaan häntä vastaan ei ollut mitään erikoisempaa
huomauttamista; päinvastoin, jokainen tunnusti hänen
kykeneväisyytensä, rehellisyytensä ja hiljaisen käytöstapansa. Mutta
mikään ei hänelle näyttänyt olevan siunaukseksi. Niin vaipui hän
köyhäintalon hoidokiksi, josta tilasta herra J. hänet vapautti pannen
hänet juuri sen talon hoitajaksi, jonka vuokraajana nainen itse oli
kerran ollut.
Herra J. lisäsi vielä kirjeessään olleensa hetkisen yksin siinä
huoneessa, jonka olin tahtonut hävitettäväksi, mutta ei nähneensä
eikä kuullensa siellä mitään; hänet oli kuitenkin vallannut sellainen
58. selittämätön kauhu, että hän mielihyvällä suostui ehdotukseni
mukaan huoneen hävittämään. Hän oli jo tilannut työmiehiä ja aikoi
alottaa työn heti kun se vain minulle sopisi.
Menin kummitustaloon tuohon salaperäiseen huoneeseen;
särimme puusisustuksen ja revimme lattian auki. Lattialankkujen
alla, tomun ja lian peitossa, oli miehen mentävä luukku. Se oli
huolellisesti suljettu rautaisilla kiskoilla ja säpeillä. Aukaistuamme
sen, laskeuduimme luukusta maanalaiseen huoneeseen, jonka
olemassa oloa ei kukaan ollut aavistanut. Siinä oli ikkuna ja tulisija,
mutta olivat molemmat nähtävästi jo aikoja sitten umpeen muuratut.
Tulen valossa tutkimme huoneen. Sen huonekalut olivat kaikki
18:nnen vuosisadan mallia ja oli niitä kolme tuolia, tamminen pöytä
ja nojatuoli.
Seinällä oli vaatekaappi, josta löysimme puoleksi lahonneita
miesten vaatteita, nekin edellisen vuosisadan mallia, ja nähtävästi
korkeassa asemassa olevalle miehelle kuuluvia. Ne olivat koristetut
kalliilla terässoljilla ja napeilla. Paitsi sitä oli kaapissa miekka sekä
liivit, jotka muinoin olivat olleet kultaompeleilla koristetut, mutta nyt
jo mustuneet ja kosteuden turmelemat. Vieläkin löysimme sieltä viisi
kultarahaa, muutamia hopearahoja sekä norsunluusta tehdyn
pääsylipun erääseen huvipaikkaan, jonka ilot ovat ammoin
haihtuneet.
Mutta päälöytömme oli kuitenkin eräänlainen seinään kiinnitetty
tulenkestävä kaappi, jonka lukon avaaminen tiirikalla oli sangen
vaikeaa. Tässä säiliössä oli kolme hyllyä ja kaksi laatikkoa. Edellisillä
oli hyvässä järjestyksessä lasipulloja. Niissä oli värittömiä, haihtuvia
nesteitä, jotka eivät tuntuneet myrkyllisiltä, joissakuissa oli fosforia
ja salmiakkia. Vielä oli kaapissa muutamia sangen omituisia
59. lasiputkia, pieni, toisesta päästään terävä rautatanko, suuri lohkare
vuorikristallia ja toinen samallainen merenvahaa, sekä vielä hyvin
voimakas magneetti. Eräässä lokerossa oli kultakehyksinen
pienoismuotokuva, jonka värit olivat säilyneet ihmeellisen kirkkaina,
katsoen siihen, että se oli niin kauan ollut sellaisessa paikassa. Kuva
esitti keski-ikäistä miestä. Kasvot olivat sangen merkilliset, niin ettei
niitä hevillä unohda. Jos voisi muuttaa käärmeen ihmiseksi, jossa
ihmishaahmosta huolimatta olisi säilynyt vanha käärmeen-ilme, niin
olisi tuo näiden kasvojen paras kuva. Otsan leveys ja mataluus, pään
terävä muoto, pitkien, raollaan olevien kamalien silmien murhaava
katse, joka vivahti vihreään ja säkenöi kuin smaragdi, ja tähän vielä
lisäksi jonkunmoinen armoton levollisuus, voittamattoman voiman
merkki — siinä kuva, joka painui mieleen.
Koneellisesti käänsin muotokuvaa kädessäni. Sen takapuolella oli
viisikulmio ja sen keskellä pienet tikapuut, joiden kolmannella
astimella oli vuosiluku 1765. Tutkin tarkemmin tuota vuosilukua ja
löysinkin siitä ponnahtimen, jota painamalla kuvan takaosa avautui
kuin kansi. Sisäpuolelle oli kaiverrettu: Sinulle Mariana! Ole
uskollinen elämässä ja kuolemassa sinun —, tässä oli nimi, jota en
huoli mainita. Olin sen kuullut lapsuudessani vanhoilta ihmisiltä,
jotka kertoivat hänestä kuin jostakin häikäisevästä taikurista, joka
aikoinaan oli herättänyt suurta huomiota. Lopuksi täytyi hänen paeta
syytettynä rakastajattarensa ja kilpakosijansa murhasta.
Herra J:lle en kertonut asiasta mitään, ja annoin hänelle, vaikkakin
vastenmielisesti, tuon pienoismuotokuvan. Tämän rautaisen kaapin
ensimäisen laatikon olimme saaneet helposti auki, mutta sitä
vaikeampi oli aukaista toista laatikkoa. Se ei ollut lukossa, mutta ei
sitä siitä huolimatta tahtonut mitenkään saada auki. Vihdoin saimme
sen kuitenkin taltalla väännetyksi auki, jolloin eteemme ilmestyi
60. aivan merkillinen laitos. Pienellä ohuella levyllä oli lasinen kuppi
täynnä kirkasta ainetta; kupin päällä oli jonkunmoinen kompassi,
jonka neula liikkui nopeasti ympäriinsä ja jossa oli tavallisten
ilmansuuntamerkkien sijassa seitsemän merkillistä kirjainta, niiden
näköisiä, joita tähtien tutkijat käyttävät planeettien merkkeinä. Aivan
erikoinen, ei väkevä eikä vallan vastenmielinenkään, haju lemusi
tästä laatikosta. Olipa hajun syy mikä hyvänsä, se teki meihin
väkevän fyysillisen vaikutuksen, jonka tunsimme kaikki, jopa
apunamme olevat työmiehetkin. Pistelevä tunne levisi yli koko
ruumiin, sormenpäistä hiuksenjuuriin saakka. Päästäkseni tuota
levyä tutkimaan otin sen päällä olevan lasikupin pois. Äkkiä pyörähti
silloin kompassi tavattomalla kiivaudella, ja tunsin koko ruumiissani
iskun, joka pudotti kupin kädestäni lattiaan. Kuppi meni rikki, neste
virtasi lattialle ja kompassi sinkosi nurkkaan. Samassa
silmänräpäyksessä tuntuivat seinät vapisevan, ikäänkuin jättiläinen
olisi niitä järkyttänyt. Nuo molemmat työmiehet säikähtivät niin, että
juoksivat tikapuita ylös huoneesta; kun ne kuitenkin näkivät ettei
mitään enää tapahtunut, palasivat he takasin. Sillävälin olin katsellut
tuota levyä. Se oli jonkunmoinen kirja, sidottu punaiseen nahkaan,
varustettu hopeisilla haoilla, ja sisälsi vain yhden pergamenttilehden;
tälle oli munkki-latinalla kirjoitettu seuraavat sanat: Kaikki, jotka
näiden muurien sisällä saan valtaani, olipa se tuntevaa tai elotonta,
elävää tai kuollutta, tahdon minä hävittää — niinkuin neula liikkuu,
niin työskentelee tahtoni! Kirottu olkoon tämä talo ja rauhattomat
sen asukkaat!
Muuta emme löytäneet: Herra J. poltti levyn kirouksineen ja hävitti
tuon maanalaisen sekä sen päällä olevan huoneen perustuksia
myöten.
61. Sen jälkeen asui hän talossa kokeeksi kuukauden ja todellakin
kodikkaampaa taloa ei Lontoossa lie ollut. Myöhemmin vuokrasi hän
sen, eivätkä vuokralaiset ole mitään valittaneet.
62. *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KAUHUJEN TALO
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