Meeting Report Session 3: Neurobiomarkers STP 44th Annual Symposium 2025 Development and Utility of Neurobiomarkers in Nonclinical Toxicology Studies

The objective of the third session (Neurobiomarkers) in the 2025 Society of Toxicologic Pathology (STP) symposium was to provide an overview of different types of existing neural biomarkers, highlight the value of novel biomarkers to detect and/or predict nervous system changes in preclinical species, and provide perspectives on their translational potential. These biomarkers can also help evaluate the efficacy of new drugs, monitor neurological diseases, and better characterize neuropathology findings. The lectures in this session featured distinguished experts in their respective scientific disciplines such as electrophysiology, molecular pathology tools to characterize pathology lesions in the visual pathways, fluid-based biomarkers, the use of MRI imaging to visualize test article delivery to the CNS of monkeys, and quantifying DRG changes using techniques like stereology, micro-CT, and nano-CT. In this session, there was also a presentation about immunohistochemical stains performed to evaluate ketamine-induced neurotoxicity in neonatal Sprague Dawley rats as a model for pediatric anesthesia. The integration of neural biomarkers in nonclinical studies in conjunction with a dedicated histopathology evaluation provides the necessary scientific data to better predict and derisk neurotoxicity in clinical studies.