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Event: 1101

Key Event Title

A descriptive phrase which defines a discrete biological change that can be measured. More help

Altered, Amphibian metamorphosis

Short name
The KE short name should be a reasonable abbreviation of the KE title and is used in labelling this object throughout the AOP-Wiki. More help
Altered, Amphibian metamorphosis
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Biological Context

Structured terms, selected from a drop-down menu, are used to identify the level of biological organization for each KE. More help
Level of Biological Organization
Organ

Organ term

The location/biological environment in which the event takes place.The biological context describes the location/biological environment in which the event takes place.  For molecular/cellular events this would include the cellular context (if known), organ context, and species/life stage/sex for which the event is relevant. For tissue/organ events cellular context is not applicable.  For individual/population events, the organ context is not applicable.  Further information on Event Components and Biological Context may be viewed on the attached pdf. More help

Key Event Components

The KE, as defined by a set structured ontology terms consisting of a biological process, object, and action with each term originating from one of 14 biological ontologies (Ives, et al., 2017; https://aopwiki.org/info_pages/2/info_linked_pages/7#List). Biological process describes dynamics of the underlying biological system (e.g., receptor signalling).Biological process describes dynamics of the underlying biological system (e.g., receptor signaling).  The biological object is the subject of the perturbation (e.g., a specific biological receptor that is activated or inhibited). Action represents the direction of perturbation of this system (generally increased or decreased; e.g., ‘decreased’ in the case of a receptor that is inhibited to indicate a decrease in the signaling by that receptor).  Note that when editing Event Components, clicking an existing Event Component from the Suggestions menu will autopopulate these fields, along with their source ID and description.  To clear any fields before submitting the event component, use the 'Clear process,' 'Clear object,' or 'Clear action' buttons.  If a desired term does not exist, a new term request may be made via Term Requests.  Event components may not be edited; to edit an event component, remove the existing event component and create a new one using the terms that you wish to add.  Further information on Event Components and Biological Context may be viewed on the attached pdf. More help
Process Object Action
metamorphosis delayed
metamorphosis increased

Key Event Overview

AOPs Including This Key Event

All of the AOPs that are linked to this KE will automatically be listed in this subsection. This table can be particularly useful for derivation of AOP networks including the KE.Clicking on the name of the AOP will bring you to the individual page for that AOP. More help
AOP Name Role of event in AOP Point of Contact Author Status OECD Status
TPO inhib alters metamorphosis AdverseOutcome Jonathan Haselman (send email) Under Development: Contributions and Comments Welcome
NIS inhib alters metamorphosis AdverseOutcome Jonathan Haselman (send email) Under Development: Contributions and Comments Welcome
IYD inhib alters metamorphosis AdverseOutcome Jonathan Haselman (send email) Under Development: Contributions and Comments Welcome
DIO1 inhib alters metamorphosis AdverseOutcome Jonathan Haselman (send email) Under Development: Contributions and Comments Welcome
DIO2 inhib alters metamorphosis AdverseOutcome Jonathan Haselman (send email) Under Development: Contributions and Comments Welcome
DIO3 inhib alters metamorphosis AdverseOutcome Jonathan Haselman (send email) Under Development: Contributions and Comments Welcome
Pendrin inhib alters metamorphosis AdverseOutcome Jonathan Haselman (send email) Under Development: Contributions and Comments Welcome
DUOX inhib alters metamorphosis AdverseOutcome Jonathan Haselman (send email) Under Development: Contributions and Comments Welcome
Hepatic nuclear receptor activation alters metamorphosis AdverseOutcome Jonathan Haselman (send email) Under Development: Contributions and Comments Welcome
TH displacement from serum TTR leading to altered amphibian metamorphosis AdverseOutcome Jonathan Haselman (send email) Under development: Not open for comment. Do not cite
TH displacement from serum TBG leading to altered amphibian metamorphosis AdverseOutcome Jonathan Haselman (send email) Under development: Not open for comment. Do not cite

Taxonomic Applicability

Latin or common names of a species or broader taxonomic grouping (e.g., class, order, family) that help to define the biological applicability domain of the KE.In many cases, individual species identified in these structured fields will be those for which the strongest evidence used in constructing the AOP was available in relation to this KE. More help
Term Scientific Term Evidence Link
African clawed frog Xenopus laevis High NCBI

Life Stages

An indication of the the relevant life stage(s) for this KE. More help
Life stage Evidence
Development High

Sex Applicability

An indication of the the relevant sex for this KE. More help
Term Evidence
Unspecific High

Key Event Description

A description of the biological state being observed or measured, the biological compartment in which it is measured, and its general role in the biology should be provided. More help

Vertebrate metamorphosis is a biological transformation process that transitions an organism from one life stage to another; it is defined by growth of new tissues, programmed death of other tissues and physiological transformation of yet other tissues (Laudet, 2011; Brown and Cai, 2007). In the case of most amphibians, metamorphosis mediates the transition from aquatic to terrestrial life, while in bony and jawless fish, metamorphosis mediates transitions between life stages that offer various advantages for survival and reproduction. In vertebrates, metamorphosis is orchestrated by the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis involving complex timing of gene expression/repression within various tissues, whereas in some cases across taxonomic classes, metamorphosis has been shown to be controlled very differently by the HPT axis.

Thyroid hormone-mediated amphibian metamorphosis can be characterized by three phases during larval development: (1) pre-metamorphosis, (2) pro-metamorphosis and (3) metamorphic climax. All three of these phases coincide with activity states of the HPT axis. Pre-metamorphosis is characterized by a fully aquatic organism with low-level function of the thyroid gland and very low circulating levels of thyroid hormone. Pro-metamorphosis is characterized by the onset of full thyroid axis function and the initiation of rising levels of thyroid hormone in the plasma, with consequential changes in anatomy and physiology defining the transition from aquatic to terrestrial life. Metamorphic climax occurs when circulating thyroid hormone levels peak, which subsequently decrease to levels maintained homeostatically as adults. This climax period also represents the time at which all anatomical and physiological changes induced by thyroid hormone have either been initiated or are already completed. Detailed descriptions of these processes are reviewed by Brown and Cai (2007).

Altered metamorphosis occurs when these thyroid hormone-mediated processes are perturbed, primarily during pro-metamorphosis and metamorphic climax. These perturbations can lead to either, delayed/arrested development, accelerated development or asynchronous development depending on the xenobiotic mode of action or MIE. Genetic defects or xenobiotic exposure that reduce thyroid hormone synthesis can delay metamorphosis, and in extreme cases, can completely arrest development. The most profound impacts on TH-mediated metamorphosis have be demonstrated through inhibition of key proteins in the TH synthesis pathway including the sodium-iodide symporter (Tietge et al., 2005, 2010; Hornung et al., 2010) and thyroperoxidase (Degitz et al., 2005; Tietge et al., 2010, 2013; Hornung et al., 2010, 2015). Alternatively, agonism of the thyroid axis through inhibition of negative feedback at the level of the hypothalamus-pituitary, or premature activation of thyroid receptor-mediated transcription can accelerate metamorphosis (Degitz et al., 2005), which can lead to asynchronous development due to errors in gene expression timing across the various metamorphic tissues. Asynchronous development can also occur due to inhibition of deiodinase (DIO) enzymes in peripheral tissues. DIO enzymes are responsible for activation and catabolism of TH; when dio gene expression profiles are altered, or the enzymes themselves undergo chemical inhibition, the imbalance of prohormone (T4), active hormone (T3) and inactive hormone (rT3, T2) can cause aberrant tissue development.

How It Is Measured or Detected

A description of the type(s) of measurements that can be employed to evaluate the KE and the relative level of scientific confidence in those measurements.These can range from citation of specific validated test guidelines, citation of specific methods published in the peer reviewed literature, or outlines of a general protocol or approach (e.g., a protein may be measured by ELISA). Do not provide detailed protocols. More help

Rates of metamorphosis in model amphibian species, Xenopus laevis, are measured multiple ways, both of which rely on a developmental staging atlas developed by Nieuwkoop and Faber (NF)(1994). The method utilized within the 21 d Amphibian Metamorphosis Assay regulatory test guideline (OECD, 2009; US EPA 2009) relate the distribution of developmental stage of control larvae to the distributions of developmental stages of treated/exposed larvae. These data are typically analyzed for differences from control using non-parametric statistical approaches such as the Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Dunn's test for pairwise comparisons. The method utilized within the Larval Amphibian Growth and Development Assay regulatory test guideline (OECD, 2015; US EPA 2015) relate the number of days to reach metamorphic climax (NF stage 62) in control larvae to the number of days to NF stage 62 in treated/exposed larvae. These data are typically analyzed for differences from control using a Cox mixed-effects proportional hazard model.

Asynchronous development is identified as disruption of the relative timing of morphogenic milestones and/or somatic development within a single larvae undergoing metamorphosis. The inability to identify an organism's developmental stage based on accepted criteria, such as outlined in Nieuwkoop and Faber (1994) for Xenopus sp. or Gosner (1960) for anurans, constitutes evidence of asynchronous development and would be counted as an incidence. Evaluations of severity are possible but the accuracy and resolution of the results would depend on the experience of the observer. One possible statistical approach for analyzing these data collected from a regulatory test guideline (OECD, 2009, 2015) would be a Rao-Scott-Cochran-Armitage by slices test (Green et al., 2014), as is often used for analysis of histopathology incidence and severity data.  

Domain of Applicability

A description of the scientific basis for the indicated domains of applicability and the WoE calls (if provided).  More help

Anurans

Xenopus laevis

Regulatory Significance of the Adverse Outcome

An AO is a specialised KE that represents the end (an adverse outcome of regulatory significance) of an AOP. More help

Altered metamorphosis is a critical apical endpoint evaluated as part of regulatory test guideline studies (OECD, 2009, 2015; US EPA 2009, 2015). Measurable effects on metamorphic rates can be an indication of endocrine disruption, and more specifically thyroid disruption, due to the requirement of thyroid hormone for amphibians to undergo metamorphosis. Although this outcome is evaluated at the level of the individual organism, delayed or arrested metamorphosis can have implications toward population-level effects; however, significant effects on metamorphic rates are typically considered in a weight-of-evidence evaluation to determine a chemical's potential to cause thyroid disruption. 

References

List of the literature that was cited for this KE description. More help

Brown, D.D. and Cai, L., 2007. Amphibian metamorphosis. Developmental biology, 306(1), pp.20-33.

Degitz, S.J., Holcombe, G.W., Flynn, K.M., Kosian, P.A., Korte, J.J. and Tietge, J.E., 2005. Progress towards development of an amphibian-based thyroid screening assay using Xenopus laevis. Organismal and thyroidal responses to the model compounds 6-propylthiouracil, methimazole, and thyroxine. Toxicological sciences, 87(2), pp.353-364.

Gosner, K.L., 1960. A simplified table for staging anuran embryos and larvae with notes on identification. Herpetologica16(3), pp.183-190.

Green, J.W., Springer, T.A., Saulnier, A.N. and Swintek, J., 2014. Statistical analysis of histopathological endpoints. Environmental toxicology and chemistry33(5), pp.1108-1116.

Hornung, M.W., Degitz, S.J., Korte, L.M., Olson, J.M., Kosian, P.A., Linnum, A.L. and Tietge, J.E., 2010. Inhibition of thyroid hormone release from cultured amphibian thyroid glands by methimazole, 6-propylthiouracil, and perchlorate. Toxicological Sciences, 118(1), pp.42-51.

Laudet, V., 2011. The origins and evolution of vertebrate metamorphosis. Current Biology, 21(18), pp.R726-R737.

Nieuwkoop, P.D. and Faber, J., 1994. Normal Table of Xenopus laevis (Daudin) Garland Publishing. New York252.

OECD. (2009). Test No. 231: Amphibian Metamorphosis Assay, OECD Guidelines for the Testing of Chemicals, Section 2. OECD Publishing, Paris.

OECD. (2015). Test No. 241: The Larval Amphibian Growth and Development Assay (LAGDA), OECD Guidelines for the Testing of Chemicals, Section 2. OECD Publishing, Paris.

Tietge, J.E., Butterworth, B.C., Haselman, J.T., Holcombe, G.W., Hornung, M.W., Korte, J.J., Kosian, P.A., Wolfe, M. and Degitz, S.J., 2010. Early temporal effects of three thyroid hormone synthesis inhibitors in Xenopus laevis. Aquatic Toxicology, 98(1), pp.44-50.

Tietge, J.E., Holcombe, G.W., Flynn, K.M., Kosian, P.A., Korte, J.J., Anderson, L.E., Wolf, D.C. and Degitz, S.J., 2005. Metamorphic inhibition of Xenopus laevis by sodium perchlorate: effects on development and thyroid histology. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 24(4), pp.926-933.

Tietge, J.E., Degitz, S.J., Haselman, J.T., Butterworth, B.C., Korte, J.J., Kosian, P.A., Lindberg-Livingston, A.J., Burgess, E.M., Blackshear, P.E. and Hornung, M.W., 2013. Inhibition of the thyroid hormone pathway in Xenopus laevis by 2-mercaptobenzothiazole. Aquatic toxicology, 126, pp.128-136.

U.S. EPA. (2009). OCSPP 890.1100: Amphibian Metamorphosis Assay (AMA), Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program Test Guidelines, 890 Series. Available at: www.regulations.gov, ID: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2009-0576-0002. Accessed March 20, 2020.

U.S. EPA. (2015). OCSPP 890.2300: Larval Amphibian Growth and Development Assay (LAGDA), Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program Test Guidelines, 890 Series. Available at: www.regulations.gov, ID: EPA-HQ-OPPT-2014-0766-0020. Accessed March 20, 2020.