A new assay for evaluating hepatotoxicity and cytotoxicity using LDL-uptake activity of liver cells

Abstract

A rapid and sensitive bioassay for detecting cytotoxicity was developed in this study to be used in evaluating many kinds of chemicals. This assay, based on the LDL (low density lipoprotein)-uptake activity of human hepatoblastoma cells, Hep G2, can evaluate cytotoxicity for 48 h with high sensitivity and selectivity using a 96 well plate and a fluorescent plate reader. We evaluate the toxicity of 230 kinds of chemicals and formulate the dose response data by a simple mathematical equation. The toxicity parameters derived by the formulation had some correlations in terms of chemical groups, which were classified as aromatics, organics, metals, and so on.