|
UC Toxics News: Fall 2007
Robert Schiestl, a professor of Pathology, Environmental Health and Radiation Oncology at UC Los Angeles has developed a yeast DNA deletion (DEL) assay that revolutionizes toxin detection. The yeast DEL is faster, has more potential uses than existing assays, and results are more closely related with actual risk to humans, "It can detect cancer-causing chemicals that were negative in other assays," explains Schiestl. Schiestl received funding from TSR&TP to conduct some of the research that led to this discovery. His group recently tuned the yeast DEL into a high throughput screening assay that streamlines the detection process. "It has a potential to replace three assays with a single assay that's more predictive than all three together," says Schiestl. The assay works by exposing the strain of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to chemicals and analyzing results for DNA deletions. Early detection of carcinogens in drug development, testing for environmental contaminants in sludge or effluent, and testing nutritional supplements are just some of the uses for this assay. The pharmaceutical company Pfizer funded part of Schiestl's research and is planning to implement the yeast DEL in all of their facilities internationally. "Our assay can be used very early in drug development to weed out those chemicals that might be carcinogens," explains Schiestl. The yeast DEL can also be used to look for chemicals that are protective. Schiestl is a participant in one of eight research centers nationwide with a mission to find chemicals that protect against radiation risk for the National Institutes of Health. His yeast DEL is a major tool in the search. The US Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences have plans to adopt Schiestl's assay into their high throughput genotoxicity testing. The international impact could be even greater. The REACH legislation recently passed in Europe will require toxicity testing for some 30,000 chemicals in a short period of time. "A high throughput assay like ours can test 30,000 chemicals in a few months", says Schiestl. "It's a technological advancement that opens up new possibilities." |
