title: Transferability and inter-laboratory variability assessment of the in vitro bovine oocyte fertilization test.
abstract: The dramatic increase in the number of animals required for reproductive toxicity testing imposes the validation of alternative methods to reduce the use of laboratory animals. As we previously demonstrated for in vitro maturation test of bovine oocytes, the present study describes the transferability assessment and the inter-laboratory variability of an in vitro test able to identify chemical effects during the process of bovine oocyte fertilization. Eight chemicals with well-known toxic properties (benzo[a]pyrene, busulfan, cadmium chloride, cycloheximide, diethylstilbestrol, ketoconazole, methylacetoacetate, mifepristone/RU-486) were tested in two well-trained laboratories. The statistical analysis demonstrated no differences in the EC50 values for each chemical in within (inter-runs) and in between-laboratory variability of the proposed test. We therefore conclude that the bovine in vitro fertilization test could advance toward the validation process as alternative in vitro method and become part of an integrated testing strategy in order to predict chemical hazards on mammalian fertility.
authors.affiliation: Reproductive and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tessaro
authors.affiliation: Reproductive and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy; Interdepartmental Research Centre for the Study of Biological Effects of Nano-Concentrations (CREBION), University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Modina
authors.affiliation: Avantea, Laboratory of Reproductive Technologies, 26100 Cremona, Italy.
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Crotti
authors.affiliation: Reproductive and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Franciosi
authors.affiliation: Avantea, Laboratory of Reproductive Technologies, 26100 Cremona, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Colleoni
authors.affiliation: Reproductive and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lodde
authors.affiliation: Avantea, Laboratory of Reproductive Technologies, 26100 Cremona, Italy; Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche Veterinarie, Università di Bologna, 40064 Bologna, Italy; Fondazione Avantea, Cremona, Italy.
authors.forename: Cesare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Galli
authors.affiliation: Avantea, Laboratory of Reproductive Technologies, 26100 Cremona, Italy; Fondazione Avantea, Cremona, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lazzari
authors.affiliation: Reproductive and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy; Interdepartmental Research Centre for the Study of Biological Effects of Nano-Concentrations (CREBION), University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy. Electronic address: alberto.luciano@unimi.it.
authors.forename: Alberto M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Luciano
mesh_terms: D000090:Acetoacetates / Q000633:toxicity; D000818:Animals; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene / Q000633:toxicity; D002066:Busulfan / Q000633:toxicity; D019256:Cadmium Chloride / Q000633:toxicity; D002417:Cattle; D003513:Cycloheximide / Q000633:toxicity; D004054:Diethylstilbestrol / Q000633:toxicity; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D059471:In Vitro Oocyte Maturation Techniques; D007654:Ketoconazole / Q000633:toxicity; D007753:Laboratories; D015735:Mifepristone / Q000633:toxicity; D009865:Oocytes; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D000090:Acetoacetates; D015735:Mifepristone; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene; D004054:Diethylstilbestrol; D003513:Cycloheximide; C005217:methyl acetoacetate; D002066:Busulfan; D019256:Cadmium Chloride; D007654:Ketoconazole
keywords: 3Rs principle; Alternative methods; Bovine; Fertilization; Oocyte; ReProTect; Reproductive toxicity; Spermatozoa