Screening methods for the identification of endocrine disrupters

Recently anecdotal observations and scientific evidence have come to light, which suggest that oestrogenic chemicals present in the environment may be exerting an adverse effect on the reproductive capacity of wildlife and man.;This concern regarding the issue of endocrine disrupters has established a need to identify which chemicals pose a risk of exerting endocrine disrupting activity.;Therefore the aim of these studies was to assess the suitability of potential test methods for inclusion in a regulatory screening battery, focusing on short-term screening procedures, which included in vitro assays and a relatively well established in vivo based model.;The assays that were identified as candidates for inclusion included an endometrial carcinoma cell line based assay and a transgenic reporter assay utilising yeast. These were found not only to be sensitive to a wide range of oestrogenic chemicals but also to have the necessary attributes of reliability and ease of use that would allow them to be incorporated into a high throughput screening procedure.;Assessment of the uterotrophic model indicated that although criticism of the use of out bred animals appeared to be unjustified, in bred strains and in particular the C57 BL6/J appeared to be more responsive to both oestrogen exposure and the anti-oestrogenic effects of chemicals that cause endocrine disruption via non classical mechanisms. The investigation additionally identified mitotic activity as a sensitive and specific indicator of oestrogenic action, which could be easily incorporated into the standard uterotrophic protocol.