In Vitro and Ex Vivo Evaluation of Rifampicin Cytotoxicity in Human Skin Models

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: Drugs for human use require several studies for the assessment of their efficacy and safety. An important property is cytotoxicity, which should be tested in different environments and models in closer proximity to the final use of the drug, with greater rel...

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Main Authors: Marcel Nani Leite, Natália Aparecida de Paula, Leandra Náira Zambelli Ramalho, Marco Andrey Cipriani Frade
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Antibiotics
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/14/7/691
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author Marcel Nani Leite
Natália Aparecida de Paula
Leandra Náira Zambelli Ramalho
Marco Andrey Cipriani Frade
author_facet Marcel Nani Leite
Natália Aparecida de Paula
Leandra Náira Zambelli Ramalho
Marco Andrey Cipriani Frade
author_sort Marcel Nani Leite
collection DOAJ
description <b>Background/Objectives</b>: Drugs for human use require several studies for the assessment of their efficacy and safety. An important property is cytotoxicity, which should be tested in different environments and models in closer proximity to the final use of the drug, with greater reliability. Thus, we proposed to evaluate the toxicity of rifampicin, the only bactericidal drug in the anti-leprosy multidrug therapy, using skin cells and skin explant cultures. <b>Methods</b>: Cell viability was tested by the MTT method using primary keratinocytes and fibroblasts and immortalized skin cells (HaCaT and 3T3) at 24, 48, and 72 h of treatment. For the skin explant, we used the TTC assay to determine viability (24, 48, 72, and 96 h), hematoxylin and eosin staining to analyze the structure and architecture of the tissue, and TUNEL to assess apoptotic cells at 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h. <b>Results</b>: Regarding the toxicity of primary and immortalized cells, viability was above 70% up to a concentration of 50 μg/mL at 24, 48, and 72 h, and at the concentration of 200 μg/mL, all cells showed greater sensitivity, especially at 72 h. Tissue viability analysis revealed a high percentage (above 96%) of viable tissue at the concentrations of 100, 150, and 200 μg/mL at the time points studied. Histological analysis showed that tissue architecture was maintained, with no apoptotic cells being observed. <b>Conclusions</b>: Thus, our results showed the importance of evaluating drug toxicity using different cell types, with the ex vivo skin model proving to be an alternative to animal use.
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spelling doaj-art-7f6739ff7fb04ff3baad16228cb831a42025-08-20T03:32:24ZengMDPI AGAntibiotics2079-63822025-07-0114769110.3390/antibiotics14070691In Vitro and Ex Vivo Evaluation of Rifampicin Cytotoxicity in Human Skin ModelsMarcel Nani Leite0Natália Aparecida de Paula1Leandra Náira Zambelli Ramalho2Marco Andrey Cipriani Frade3Division of Dermatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14040-900, São Paulo, BrazilDivision of Dermatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14040-900, São Paulo, BrazilDepartment of Pathology and Legal Medicine, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14040-900, São Paulo, BrazilDivision of Dermatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14040-900, São Paulo, Brazil<b>Background/Objectives</b>: Drugs for human use require several studies for the assessment of their efficacy and safety. An important property is cytotoxicity, which should be tested in different environments and models in closer proximity to the final use of the drug, with greater reliability. Thus, we proposed to evaluate the toxicity of rifampicin, the only bactericidal drug in the anti-leprosy multidrug therapy, using skin cells and skin explant cultures. <b>Methods</b>: Cell viability was tested by the MTT method using primary keratinocytes and fibroblasts and immortalized skin cells (HaCaT and 3T3) at 24, 48, and 72 h of treatment. For the skin explant, we used the TTC assay to determine viability (24, 48, 72, and 96 h), hematoxylin and eosin staining to analyze the structure and architecture of the tissue, and TUNEL to assess apoptotic cells at 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h. <b>Results</b>: Regarding the toxicity of primary and immortalized cells, viability was above 70% up to a concentration of 50 μg/mL at 24, 48, and 72 h, and at the concentration of 200 μg/mL, all cells showed greater sensitivity, especially at 72 h. Tissue viability analysis revealed a high percentage (above 96%) of viable tissue at the concentrations of 100, 150, and 200 μg/mL at the time points studied. Histological analysis showed that tissue architecture was maintained, with no apoptotic cells being observed. <b>Conclusions</b>: Thus, our results showed the importance of evaluating drug toxicity using different cell types, with the ex vivo skin model proving to be an alternative to animal use.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/14/7/691rifampicincell cultureskin explant modeltoxicityhistological analysis
spellingShingle Marcel Nani Leite
Natália Aparecida de Paula
Leandra Náira Zambelli Ramalho
Marco Andrey Cipriani Frade
In Vitro and Ex Vivo Evaluation of Rifampicin Cytotoxicity in Human Skin Models
Antibiotics
rifampicin
cell culture
skin explant model
toxicity
histological analysis
title In Vitro and Ex Vivo Evaluation of Rifampicin Cytotoxicity in Human Skin Models
title_full In Vitro and Ex Vivo Evaluation of Rifampicin Cytotoxicity in Human Skin Models
title_fullStr In Vitro and Ex Vivo Evaluation of Rifampicin Cytotoxicity in Human Skin Models
title_full_unstemmed In Vitro and Ex Vivo Evaluation of Rifampicin Cytotoxicity in Human Skin Models
title_short In Vitro and Ex Vivo Evaluation of Rifampicin Cytotoxicity in Human Skin Models
title_sort in vitro and ex vivo evaluation of rifampicin cytotoxicity in human skin models
topic rifampicin
cell culture
skin explant model
toxicity
histological analysis
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/14/7/691
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AT leandranairazambelliramalho invitroandexvivoevaluationofrifampicincytotoxicityinhumanskinmodels
AT marcoandreyciprianifrade invitroandexvivoevaluationofrifampicincytotoxicityinhumanskinmodels