Promega, BASF join forces to develop method to identify allergenic substances

Promega and BASF have said that they had collaborated to develop an alternative approach to animal studies which can detect quite accurately the allergenic potential of substances.

The reaction of skin cells to allergenic substances can now be exhibited in the test tube, with the use of a recently developed cell line.

Allergic skin reactions are caused due to various biochemical processes, including the binding of a substance to one of the skin’s proteins and a resulting stress reaction.

Both are advanced and dependable indicators of a possible allergenic potential of the test substance, said BASF.

RWTH Aachen University Hospital scientists have modified a reporter gene from Promega, in order that the stress reactions are coupled to a light signal.

Firmly inserted into human skin cell lines was this gene construct.

Promega marketing manager Dr Katarina Bohm said human luciferase vectors translate cellular changes into a luminescent signal, which lets easy detection of stress reactions in skin cells with these luciferase assay system.

This new cell line was said to have undergone extensive testing at BASF and a standardised method to accurately assess the allergenic potential of a substance was developed.

The skin sensitising action of substances had to be assessed in animal studies previously.

BASF short-term Toxicology unit head Dr. Robert Landsiedel, commenting on this development, said, "Combining the new method with two additional alternative methods to investigate skin sensitization allows us not only to significantly reduce the number of animal studies, but also to predict a possible allergic potential more reliably than before."

BASF feels developing the method is crucial right now as following the REACH regulation, by 2018, thousands of substances have to be scrutinised for their skin sensitising action.

Also, animal studies on cosmetic ingredients have been banned in the European market since March 2013 .

This method has been submitted to the European Commission (European Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods, ECVAM, which assesses if it can be deemed as a standard method for toxicological studies in Europe.