Investigating the applicability domain of the hiPSC-based PluriLum assay: an embryotoxicity assessment of chemicals and drugs

To meet the growing demand for developmental toxicity assessment of chemicals, New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) are needed. Previously, we developed two 3D in vitro assays based on human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) and cardiomyocyte differentiation: the PluriBeat assay, based on assessment of beating differentiated embryoid bodies, and the PluriLum assay, a reporter gene assay based on the expression of the early cardiac marker NKX2.5; both promising assays for predicting embryotoxic effects of chemicals and drugs. In this work, we aimed to further describe the predictive power of the PluriLum assay and compare its sensitivity with PluriBeat and similar human stem cell-based assays developed by others. For this purpose, we assessed the toxicity of a panel of ten chemicals from different chemical classes, consisting of the known developmental toxicants 5-fluorouracil, all-trans retinoic acid and valproic acid, as well as the negative control compounds ascorbic acid and folic acid. In addition, the fungicides epoxiconazole and prochloraz, and three perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), PFOS, PFOA and GenX were tested. Generally, the PluriLum assay displayed higher sensitivity when compared to the PluriBeat assay. For several compounds the luminescence readout of the PluriLum assay showed effects not detected by the PluriBeat assay, including two PFAS compounds and the two fungicides. Overall, we find that the PluriLum assay has the potential to provide a fast and objective detection of developmental toxicants and has a level of sensitivity that is comparable to or higher than other in vitro assays also based on human stem cells and cardiomyocyte differentiation for assessment of developmental toxicity.