In Vitro Embryotoxicity Test of Four Plasticizers by Embryonic Stem Cell Test (EST)

Abstract

The embryonic stem cell test (EST) is a well-known in vitro embryotoxicty test protocol. We therefore investigated the embryotoxicity of four plasticizers by the EST protocol. Three parameters (ID₅₀, IC₅₀ES and IC₅₀3T3) obtained by the results were substituted for the prediction model for classification. Each embryotoxicity level of DBP, BBP and DEHA was classified into the category of "weak embryotoxicity". Only DEHP was classified as "no embryotoxicity".
As we carried out these experiments, we were able to identify new weak points in the EST protocol; that is, using the high concentration solution of the four plasticizers, it is difficult to make an embryoid body (EB) from the hanging drop culture of the EST protocol. A surface-active agent should be considered when such a phenomenon occurs.
When using special chemical substances, improvement of the EST method from the viewpoint of physical properties is also desired.