ABSTRACT:
Acrylamide is a chemical generated in food upon heat cooking and used in industry. It is a key concern for health due to potential toxicity. In this review, recent advances on the clarification of acrylamide-induced programmed cell death (PCD) and implications for drug safety development are presented. PCD, including apoptosis, is a central feature in cellular homeostasis maintenance but deregulation with the process is involved in cancer and neurodegenerative disease pathogenesis. Acrylamide triggers PCD through complicated mechanisms depending on DNA damage, oxidative stress, and induction of various cell pathways such as apoptosis and autophagy. In addition, the PCD-inducing and genotoxic properties of acrylamide make it an ideal system to use in testing drug safety and identifying possible risks for new drug candidates. By the determination of molecular mechanisms of acrylamide-induced toxicity, researchers would like to improve preclinical safety testing assays and improve drug development strategies. The research is important for public health and the pharmaceutical industry and provides information on safer drug design, particularly avoiding organ-specific toxicities and choosing better drugs. Despite challenges, further studies on acrylamide-induced PCD are crucial in optimizing safety tests and developing biomarkers for toxicological assessment.