In vitro evaluation of candidate pretreatment and treatment compounds against sulfur mustard (HD) -induced human mononuclear leukocyte toxicity using a dye exclusion cell viability assay

An assay measuring propidium iodide (PI) incorporation into nonviable human peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes (PBML) was established at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense (USAMRICD), and the technology transferred and implemented at Battelle's Medical Research and Evaluation Facility (MREF) for use as a screen to evaluate candidate compounds for direct cytotoxicity as well as for efficacy in preventing HD-induced cytotoxicity. For assay transition, studies were performed to establish a fixed HD challenge concentration; to develop a positive and negative control dataset; and to establish the reproducibility in obtaining an EC50 (concentration of candidate compound required to provide 50 percent protection against the fixed HD concentration) for niacinamide (NM). Various concentrations of candidate compounds were preincubated for 15 to 30 min with PBML prior to adding the fixed HD challenge. At 24 hr after exposure, PI was added to the cultures and the number of nonviable (PI positive) cells was determined by flow cytometry. Positive (NM pretreated) and negative (HD only) controls were examined concurrently and used to maintain data quality. From this dataset, candidate compounds were evaluated for direct cytotoxic effects and for efficacy in preventing HD-induced cytotoxicity. EC50 values for effective candidate compounds were estimated andmore » reported for ranking compound effectiveness. Results from these studies demonstrate assay function and reproducibility during routine screening operations.« less