Screening and Testing for Endocrine Disruption in Fish—Biomarkers As “Signposts,” Not “Traffic Lights,” in Risk Assessment

• Published in: Environmental health perspectives Vol. 114; no. Suppl 1; pp. 106 - 114
• Main Authors: Hutchinson, Thomas H., Ankley, Gerald T., Segner, Helmut, Tyler, Charles R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 01.04.2006
• Subjects: Algorithms; Animals; Biomarkers - analysis; Endocrine Disruptors - toxicity; Environmental Exposure; Fishes - physiology; Research Design - standards; Risk Assessment - methods; Species Specificity

Biomarkers are currently best used as mechanistic "signposts" rather than as "traffic lights" in the environmental risk assessment of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). In field studies, biomarkers of exposure [e.g., vitellogenin (VTG) induction in male fish] are powerful too...