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The Virtual Embryo Project (v-Embryo™):
A computational framework for developmental toxicity

Pilot Study

Proof of concept

For proof of concept, v-Embryo™ will focus initially on early eye development. This morphogenetic system has well-studied anatomical landmarks and developmental phenotypes. It requires precisely-timed interactions between surface ectoderm and forebrain neuroepithelium that give rise to the lens and cornea (surface ectoderm), pigmented retina and sensory retina (neural ectoderm), and iris and ciliary body (neural crest). The key genes and signaling pathways orchestrating these inductive phenomena are highly conserved. A range of chemical-induced ocular phenotypes affect the anterior and/or posterior segments of the eye, often nonsyndromic. As such, eye development is simple enough to capture a great deal of experimental detail for computer simulation and yet complex enough to warrant the engineering of a computational toolbox that can be applied to analyze critical events in silico, thus enabling predictive models for developmental toxicity.








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