Assessment of developmental neurotoxicity and investigation of toxic mechanism by live imaging of cultured neuron

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Adverse effects of chemical exposure in brain development increase the risk of neurodevelopmental disorder. A few chemicals have been recognized as agents to induce neurodevelopmental disorders or subclinical brain dysfunction. However, most of environmental chemicals remain to be evaluated for the developmental neurotoxicity, because working out a hazard assessment for myriad substances is a demanding task. In this study, we aimed to establish new methods for efficient evaluation of the developmental neurotoxicity of environmental chemicals. We carried out live imaging analyses of cultured neuronal cells to monitor the toxic effects of test substances in neurite outgrowth and apoptotic cell death and to examine the toxic mechanisms. As the results of live imaging analyses, we showed that live imaging is a useful method for the screening of chemical toxicities and for improving the efficiency of toxicity evaluation.