Estimating the no-observed-adverse-effect-level (NOAEL) of hormetic dose-response relationships in meta-data evaluations

Evgenios Agathokleous; Michael N Moore; Edward J Calabrese

doi:10.1016/j.mex.2021.101568

Estimating the no-observed-adverse-effect-level (NOAEL) of hormetic dose-response relationships in meta-data evaluations

MethodsX. 2021 Nov 6:8:101568. doi: 10.1016/j.mex.2021.101568. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Evgenios Agathokleous¹, Michael N Moore^{2

3

4}, Edward J Calabrese⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology (NUIST), Nanjing, Jiangsu 210044, China.
² European Centre for Environment & Human Health (ECEHH), University of Exeter Medical School, Knowledge Spa, Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro, UK.
³ Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, Devon, UK.
⁴ School of Biological & Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK.
⁵ Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Sciences, Morrill I, N344, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA.

Abstract

The number of studies reporting hormetic responses is rapidly increasing, and quantitative evaluations are needed to improve the understanding of hormetic dose responses. However, there is no standardized methodology to estimate the no-observed-adverse-effect-level (NOAEL) of hormetic dose-response relationships developed using data mined from the published literature. Here, we propose a protocol that can be followed to estimate NOAEL, a process that is illustrated using a specific example. This protocol can be used for maintaining a mutual language (since NOAEL can be defined in different ways), permitting comparisons among different studies, and facilitating cumulative science.

Keywords: Contaminant effect; Exposure-response relationship; Hormesis; Low-dose biological effects; MAX, maximum stimulatory response; NOAEL, no-observed-adverse-effect-level; Organismal response; Oxidative stress; PFBA, perfluorobutanoic acid; Pollution effects; Susceptibility; Tolerance; Toxicological testing.