Development of the test method for detection of endocrine-disrupting activity using DNA microarrays

Summary

Using recent developments of DNA microarray technology, the expression and/or suppression of tens of thousands of genes can be measured simultaneously. DNA microarray technology has a wide applicability to the fields of the research on the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Here, we present the application of this technology to studies of developing and validating methods for risk assessment of EDCs. We have examined gene expression regulation by the test chemicals on steroid-hormone-sensitive human and mouse cell lines. In the case of human cell lines, a microarray comprising about 8,400 human genes was used for the test. A statistically significant change in expression was observed for about 1,000 genes in the microarray. In the case of mice, about 1,500 of approximately 9,000 genes were identified. These selected genes can be called “expression regulated genes associated with EDC effects”. DNA microarrays could provide not only a method to quickly categorize chemicals and assign a mode of adverse effects but also more sensitive end points to be addressed by gene expression regulation.