Systems bioengineering approaches for developmental toxicology

Beatriz Xavier Soares; Cláudia C Miranda; Tiago G Fernandes

doi:10.1016/j.csbj.2023.06.005

Systems bioengineering approaches for developmental toxicology

Comput Struct Biotechnol J. 2023 Jun 7:21:3272-3279. doi: 10.1016/j.csbj.2023.06.005. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Beatriz Xavier Soares^{1

2}, Cláudia C Miranda^{1

2

3}, Tiago G Fernandes^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Bioengineering and iBB - Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
² Associate Laboratory i4HB - Institute for Health and Bioeconomy, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
³ AccelBio, Collaborative Laboratory to Foster Translation and Drug Discovery, Cantanhede, Portugal.

Abstract

Developmental toxicology is the field of study that examines the effects of chemical and physical agents on developing organisms. By using principles of systems biology and bioengineering, a systems bioengineering approach could be applied to study the complex interactions between developing organisms, the environment, and toxic agents. This approach would result in a holistic understanding of the effects of toxic agents on organisms, by considering the interactions between different biological systems and the impacts of toxicants on those interactions. It would be useful in identifying key biological pathways and mechanisms affected by toxic agents, as well as in the development of predictive models to assess potential risks of exposure to toxicants during development. In this review, we discuss the relevance of systems bioengineering to the field of developmental toxicity and provide up-to-date examples that illustrate the use of engineering principles for this application.

Keywords: Developmental toxicology; High-throughput screening; Human pluripotent stem cells; Mathematical modeling; Systems bioengineering.

Publication types

Review