Dataset Information

Discriminating reprotoxic and non-reprotoxic phthalates by transcriptomics analysis of rat testis

ABSTRACT: REACH, the EU regulation on chemicals and their safe use, stipulates that about 30,000 chemical substances are to be assessed on their possible risks. Toxicological evaluation of these compounds will at least partly be based on animal testing. Especially reproductive toxicity is one of the most complicated, time-consuming and expensive in vivo endpoints. Introducing microarray-based endpoints can potentially refine in vivo toxicity testing. If compounds from a distinct chemical class induce reproducible gene-expression responses with a recognizable overlap, these gene-expression signatures may indicate intrinsic features of certain compounds, including toxicity. In the present study, we investigated this theory for the reproductive toxicity of phthalates. Male rats were treated with a single dose of either reprotoxic or non-reprotoxic phthalates and sacrificed 24h thereafter. Subsequently, histopathological and gene-expression profiling analyses were performed. Despite ambiguous histopathological observations, we were able to distinguish the reprotoxic from the non-reprotoxic phthalates based on differential gene expression. This shows that differences in gene expression indicative for the type of exposure can be detected earlier, or at lower doses, than phenotypic tissue damage. These findings are promising for ’early warning’ biomarker analyses and for using toxicogenomics in a category approach.

ORGANISM(S): Rattus norvegicus

PROVIDER: GSE20952 | GEO | 2010/09/01

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA124439

REPOSITORIES: GEO

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:Testing for toxicity in a number of aquatic organisms is necessary for risk assessments of substances. Yet, aquatic larvae of the so-called EPT (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera) taxa are regularly exposed to several environmental contaminants and have been demonstrated to be extremely vulnerable to a variety of environmental pollutants. These results show that existing toxicity testing can result in an underestimating of the risk for EPT taxa and that more toxicity data using EPT taxonomic representatives are needed. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of standardized test techniques and scant published data, particularly for European EPT species. Our study's objective was to create a testing framework for a variety of endpoints in the mayfly Cloeon dipterum. Due to its high prevalence in local waterbodies and its brief lifecycle of a few weeks in the right environmental conditions, C. dipterum was selected as the test organism. To this end, two chronic toxicity tests with semi-static test design and two media renewal per week were performed. Small larvae in the stage L3 based on the wing pad development described by Cianciara (1976) were used in the tests. Four replicates per test concentration and control containing five individuals per replicate were installed. The emergence was determined daily on working days. The tests were conducted at a temperature of 20 °C (± 1 °C) and the illumination was < 1 µE m2s 1 with a light and dark rhythm of 16:8 h. The physico-chemical parameters pH, oxygen concentration, and oxygen saturation were measured using the multiparameter device WTW Multi 1970i at test start, throughout each media renewal, and at test end. Continuous temperature measurements were taken, and weekly lighting assessments were made. Fipronil was administered to C. dipterum larvae in the long-term exposure experiment at nominal concentrations ranging from 0.038 to 0.60 g/L. This test was conducted for 38 days until all larvae had emerged. In the short-term exposure experiment, C. dipterum larvae were exposed to Fipronil in nominal concentrations between 0.038 and 0.30 µg/L for a test duration of seven days. At test end, the larvae were sampled for transcriptome analysis.

Dataset Information

Discriminating reprotoxic and non-reprotoxic phthalates by transcriptomics analysis of rat testis

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure