Evaluation oftetrahymena thermophilaas anin vitroalternative to ocular irritation studies in rabbits

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Abstract
The protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila was evaluated as an indicator organism that might substitute for chemical irritancy testing in rabbit eyes. Using normal motion of the cell as an endpoint of a cytotoxicity assay, it was found that either inbred or outbred cells reacted equally. The temperature, surface area, or age of the culture did not affect test results. When 21 chemicals were compared in vitro to the in vivo Draize eye irritation test, in 86% of the comparisons T. thermophila indicated equal or greater “irritancy” than in vivo testing. It is suggested that the T. thermophila test may be useful as part of a battery of in vitro tests to evaluate the potential irritancy of chemicals to the rabbit eye.