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In the late 1980s vinclozolin was tested for prenatal developmental toxicity in rats for registration purposes in USA. At 1000mg/kgbw, 95% of all fetuses were female upon visual inspection (ano-genital distance determination). Anti-androgenic effects (AA) were also noted in a subsequent 2-generation study. These findings triggered mechanistic investigations at BASF and at US-EPA. Results published by the latter were the starting point of the endocrine disruption (ED) discussion in the 1990s. AA effects of vinclozolin are mediated by two metabolites, which have an antagonistic effect on the androgen receptor. Currently, determination of ED has become a major end-point in toxicology testing and the US-EPA has set up an elaborated testing paradigm to fulfill this requirement. Future screening for ED can be improved making use of new technologies. ED modes of action can be determined by three alternative (3R) methods. Steroid synthesis in H295R cells (1), androgen-receptor binding in modified yeast (2) and metabolomics (3). Using vinclozolin as a case study, results indicate: (1) an effect on steroid synthesis in vitro, (2) an antagonistic effect on the androgen receptor and (3) that the metabolome profile of vinclozolin is similar to that of other receptor mediated anti-androgens (e.g. flutamide)., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

To encourage the development and validation of alternative toxicity test methods, the effort required for validation of test methods proposed for regulatory purposes should be minimized. Performance standards (PS) facilitate efficient validation by requiring limited testing. Based on the validated method, PS define accuracy and reliability values that must be met by the new similar test method. The OECD adopted internationally harmonized PS for evaluating new endpoint versions of the local lymph node assay (LLNA). However, in the process of evaluating a lymph node cell count alternative (LNCC), simultaneous conduct of the regulatory LLNA showed that this standard test may not always perform in perfect accord with its own PS. The LNCC results were similar to the concurrent LLNA. Discrepancies between PS, LLNA and LNCC were largely associated with "borderline" substances and the variability of both endpoints. Two key lessons were learned: firstly, the understandable focus on substances close to the hazard classification borderline are more likely to emphasise issues of biological variability, which should be taken into account during the evaluation of results; secondly, variability in the results for the standard assay should be considered when selecting reference chemicals for PS., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Most endocrine disruptors interact with hormone receptors or steroid biosynthesis and metabolism, thereby modifying the physiological function of endogenous hormones. Here, we present an alternative testing paradigm for detection of endocrine modes of action that replace and reduce animal testing through refinement. Receptor mediated endocrine effects were assessed using the yeast-based receptor-mediated transcriptional activation YES/YAS assays and effects on steroid hormone biosynthesis were assessed using the human cell line H295R in the steroidogenesis assay. In our testing paradigm we propose to complement the in vitro assays with a single in vivo repeated dose study in which plasma samples are analyzed for their metabolome profile in addition to classical parameters such as histopathology. The combination of these methods does not only contribute to refinement and reduction of animal testing, but also has significantly increased the efficient allocation of resources and allows for a sound assessment of the endocrine disruption potential of compounds. Thus, this proposal constitutes a potentially attractive alternative to EPA's Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program to identify mammalian, systemic endocrine modes of action. Data on 14 reference substances for which the in vitro YES/YAS and steroidogenesis assays and the in vivo metabolome analysis were performed to assess their putative endocrine modes of action are presented here., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)