Validation Management Group on Non Animal Testing (VMG-NA)
Contact persons for Italy:
Cinzia La Rocca e Sabrina Tait, Centre for Gender-Specific Medicine
The Validation Management Group on Non Animal Testing (VMG-NA) is under the supervision of the Working Party of National Co-ordinators (WNT) and the Advisory Group on Endocrine Disrupters Testing and Assessment (EDTA AG, https://www.iss.it/en/web/guest/-/endocrine-disrupters).
The Group’s task is to evaluate newly proposed in vitro methods as alternative to animal studies considering technical issues, results’ interpretation and validation process. Aim of the proposed new or updated Test Guidelines is the identification of compounds with potential endocrine disrupting activity. Following revision and approval by the VMG-NA, the Test Guideline has to be further revised by WNT and EDTA AG groups to be officially approved and included in the OECD Work plan.
The importance of the approved Test Guidelines is that their use, application and results have a regulatory relevance, thus providing a harmonized framework, based on the weight of evidence, for the classification of chemical compounds acting as endocrine disruptors. Such Test Guidelines fall into the Second level of the Conceptual Framework for Testing and Assessment of Endocrine Disrupters.
The in vitro Test Guidelines evaluated and approved by VMG-NA so far are:
- estrogen receptor binding affinity (OECD TG 493)
- estrogen receptor transactivation (OECD TG 455), yeast estrogen screen (OECD TG 457)
- androgen receptor transactivation (OECD TG 458)
- steroidogenesis in vitro (OECD TG 456)
Currently, other tests are under evaluation o have not finished yet their approval process, such as those related to the assessment of thyroid and thyroid hormone effects.
For further information see the page https://www.oecd.org/chemicalsafety/testing/oecdworkrelatedtoendocrinedisrupters.htm
https://www.oecd.org/chemicalsafety/testing/oecdworkrelatedtoendocrinedisrupters.htm
