Alternative approaches for testicular toxicity

Abstract

International audienceAlternative approaches for testicular toxicity Severe impairment of parameters related to male fertility is observed in Europe and in industrialized countries, related to increased environmental toxicants. Currently the regulatory tests to detect the impact of chemicals on reproduction require a large number of laboratory animals. For ethical, economic and public health reasons, it is urgent to find alternative tests using fewer animals, less expensive and faster. This article describes a methodology to divide by 20 the number of rodents needed for such studies, and thus the experimental time and cost. The authors, specialists of complementary techniques, offer a unique system made of rat seminiferous tubules in culture, mimicking the in vivo situation, and a battery of interacting cytophysiological and toxicogenomic analyses. The association of a cell culture model, a good knowledge of physiology and "omics" technology can lead to biotech applications in toxicology most useful for chemical and pharmaceutical industry