{
  "id": 6439487,
  "title": "Cell Painting-Based Tool for the Risk Assessment of Mammary Carcinogens and Endocrine Disruptors",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/cell-painting-based-tool-for-the-risk-assessment-of-mammary",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-09T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.04.749408v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women globally, and chemicals that interfere with estrogen or progesterone signaling are considered potential risk factors. However, the effects of chemicals on mammary gland (MG) development and function are still not thoroughly investigated, emphasizing the need for further research in this field. To fill this knowledge gap, researchers employed high-content imaging assays, specifically Cell Painting technology, to evaluate cell morphology alterations due to chemical exposure and to identify morphological characteristics that might indicate mammary carcinogens (MC) risk factors.\n\nBy analyzing a dataset of MC and non-mammary carcinogens (Non-MC) with existing Cell Painting profiles from the JUMP-CP dataset, the researchers identified 51 compounds, consisting of 28 MC and 23 non-genotoxic Non-MC. These compounds were then analyzed through non-linear dimensionality reduction (UMAP) and hierarchical clustering techniques to characterize the morphological data.\n\nThe researchers then created a Guilt-By-Association (GBA) framework, comparing different configurations of similarity metrics, risk-score aggregation methods, and feature representations. Interestingly, the morphological profiles of MCs clustered based on their mechanism of action rather than their carcinogenicity label. Genotoxic MCs caused significant disruptions in the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, nucleus, and RNA compartments. Conversely, hormonally active compounds were virtually indistinguishable from control cells, indicating a lack of functional steroid hormone receptors in the utilized cell line.\n\nThe most effective GBA configuration yielded an AUC-ROC of 0.630 and an AUC-PR of 0.696. When tested prospectively on endocrine disruptors, this method highlighted clofentezine, 3-methylpyrazole, resorcinol, 2-tert-butyl-4-methoxyphenol, and thiabendazole as promising candidates for further confirmation testing. This study introduces a transparent and interpretable tool for prioritizing chemicals in mammary carcinogenicity assessments, while also acknowledging the limitations and underscoring the necessity of complementing Cell Painting datasets with hormone-sensitive models for a more comprehensive evaluation.",
  "summary": "Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide and chemicals disrupting estrogen or progesterone signaling are recognized as potential risk factors. However, chemicals that alter the mammary gland (MG) development and function remain understudied, highlighting the need for additional research in this area. To address this gap, we investigate the relevance of using high-content imaging…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}