To assess the potential vulnerability of representative aquatic wildlife groups and humans to AACs by
determining the impact of model compounds at environmentally relevant concentrations/doses and to identify sensitive
wildlife species, critical stages of exposure and easily measurable endpoints which can be used to determine whether
substances or mixtures adversely affect communities in ecosystems or human populations.
The aim is to provide an assessment of the effects of a number of AACs in both, single compound exposure experiments
at environmentally relevant concentrations and tests with complex mixtures of different compounds provided by the
environmental samples. For this approach a wide range of different human-relevant test models, like human cell lines
(e.g., MCF-7, SK-BR-3, LNCaP-FGC, JEG-3), human tissues (placenta, fibroblasts, gonads, liver) and rodents
(Wistar rats, Rattus norvegicus), and of a wide variety of representative taxa important for the functioning of
aquatic ecosystems will be used, like amphibia (Xenopus laevis), fish (Rutilus rutilus, Danio rerio, Pimephales promelas),
echinoderms (Antedon mediterranea, Paracentrotus lividus), crustaceans (Hyalella azteca, Acartia tonsa) and
molluscs (Marisa cornuarietis, Potamopyrgus antipodarum). We intend to investigate the effects of AACs and
complex environmental samples at different levels of biological integration (from molecules to gross morphological alterations).
For this work, we have access to exposure facilities in all laboratories which will cooperate. Wherever possible the considered
models will be exposed to identical concentrations to enable a direct comparison of the sensitivities of the different animal
groups and test systems to specific compounds / mixtures. The toxicological endpoints assigned to different biological
integration levels will be analysed (identification of critical stages and of suitable morphological endpoints), (histopathological
investigations), (hormone titres and comparative receptor characterisation), (biochemical markers). Dose- or concentration-response
analyses will be performed for all test systems and compounds.
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