Lab-Grown Human Cells Could Replace Animals For Cosmetics Testing

By Rebecca Boyle Posted 08.08.2011 at 2:45 pm 7 Comments

Cosmetics Corey Ann via Flickr

Good news for animal rights activists: Lab-grown human cells can be used to test for allergic reactions to cosmetics, possibly negating the practice of animal testing for certain compounds.

In the US, animals are still regularly used as test subjects in studies of the toxicity and allergy sensitivity of cosmetics, detergents and oils. But animal testing for cosmetics was banned in the European Union in 2009. Cosmetics manufacturers thus have no way to test their products for allergy sensitivity. (Animals are still used in a wide range of other tests, however.)

Banning cosmetics testing is good news for animals, but it can be problematic for people who suffer from allergic contact dermatitis, in which itching or eczema results from prolonged exposure to certain chemicals. Tests can help pinpoint the source of the “sensitizing” chemical, or the chemical that makes one’s skin sensitive to reaction. But those tests require animal or human subjects.

Now researchers at Lund University in Sweden may have found a workaround, by studying the genes of human cells. Their research is published in the open-access journal BMC Genomics, published by BioMed Central.

They used genome-wide profiling to study how a human leukemia cell line responded to known cosmetics chemicals. They were able to define 200 genes that served as a biomarker for allergic sensitivity. By comparing the biomarker to the chemicals’ behavior, they were able to predict the potency required to induce sensitivity, the researchers write.

“This simple and robust cell-based assay has the potential to completely replace or drastically reduce the utilization of test systems based on experimental animals,” the authors write.

What’s more, it will be more accurate anyway, because it measures the response of human genes, rather than animal analogues. And that could mean good news for animals on this continent, too.

[via Science Daily]

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7 Comments

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sacridias

08/08/11 at 3:04 pm

PETA just threw a party. PETAC (People for ethical treatment of clones) was just formed in their wake. I am a bit concerned about growing a mutant blob now though. Mixing semi-random chemicals with human clones, can't be good.

Now Now before anyone bitches me out, yes I love animals, and yes I am being sarcastic, the mutant clones need to be treated fairly as well, once they become aware at least.

We should only experiment on lawyers and politicians (It is the only truly ethical solution).

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zunigadragon

08/08/11 at 8:45 pm

Agreed
-Your Friend Zunigadragon

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Emmahenrygus

08/08/11 at 10:24 pm

Good. I hope the human cells feel pain during the testing. You might as well just torture animals for no reason, for all the good cosmetics do.

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Lord Elliot the...

08/09/11 at 1:47 am

I foresee a rise in the cost of human cells. That gives me an evil idea... ;D
-Spouting a fountain of nonsense since 1995-
Why do we use smilies? Their an abomination to punctuation kind. >:(
...
...
...
...
XD

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Lord Elliot the...

08/09/11 at 1:47 am

Oops, they're
-Spouting a fountain of nonsense since 1995-

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sacridias

08/09/11 at 10:54 am

The only valuable smile is the evil smile, associated with the evil laugh. Everything else is a waste of energy and contribution to the heat death of the universe. :}

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aerie

08/11/11 at 4:10 am

From sacridias: "I am a bit concerned about growing a mutant blob now though. Mixing semi-random chemicals with human clones, can't be good. [...] yes I love animals [...] the mutant clones need to be treated fairly as well, once they become aware at least."

Where did you read about human clones in the article? A mutant blob? I'm glad you love animals, but where does it say anything about the cells being grown into animals 'mutant clones'?

I'm not sure you know what "mutant" or "clone" or "cells" actually mean. The whole point of the article was that cells don't have 'awareness'. Which is why this is good news for
animals - only animal cells will be used - hence less animal suffering. Cellular level.

Fully cloned animals or humans are not "mutant" or mindless automatons. They require a uterus (a female, a woman) for gestation & birth.

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