| Application of Toxicogenomic Analysis to Risk Assessment of Delayed Long-Term Effects of Multiple Chemicals, Including Endocrine Disruptors in Human Fetuses Chisato Mori,1,2 Masatoshi Komiyama,1 Tetsuya
Adachi,1 Kenichi Sakurai,3 Daisuke Nishimura,1
Kyoka Takashima,1 and Emiko Todaka3 1Department of Bioenvironmental Medicine, Graduate School
of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan; 2Core Research
for Evolutional Science and Technology (CREST), Japan Science and Technology
Corporation, Kawaguchi, Japan; 3Department of Environmental
Medical Science (SRL), Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University,
Chiba, Japan Abstract
Our previous studies analyzing umbilical cords show that human fetuses in Japan are exposed to multiple chemicals. Because of these findings, we believe it is necessary to establish a new strategy for examining the possible delayed long-term effects caused by prenatal exposure to multiple chemical combinations and evaluating the health risk to human fetuses. In this commentary we describe our attempts to apply toxicogenomic analysis of umbilical cords, using DNA microarray for future risk assessment. Because the umbilical cord is part of the fetal tissue, it is possible to estimate the effects of chemicals on the fetus by analyzing alteration of the gene expression. This type of toxicogenomic analysis could be a powerful and effective tool for developing a new risk assessment strategy to help investigators understand and possibly prevent long-term effects caused by fetal exposure to multiple chemicals. Worldwide cooperation is needed to establish a new stragegy for risk assessment using toxicogenomic analysis that focuses on the human fetus. Key words: delayed long-term effects, DNA microarray, human fetus, multiple chemicals, risk assessment, toxicogenomics, umbilical cord. Environ Health Perspect 111:803-809 (2003) .
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