BIOMARKERS FOR ASSESSING HUMAN FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH

Identification of environmental hazards to reproductive health and cha racterization of the adverse outcomes necessitate a multidisciplinary approach. Epidemiologic studies are required for the identification of adverse health effects in human populations and then to confirm that specific exposures are responsible. Clinical studies are required to d evelop assays for reproductive biomarkers and to validate these assays prior to their application in the field. Assays for field use must be formatted and streamlined for large-scale applications and, whenever possible, computer algorithms should be developed to interpret biomark er data. Appropriate animal models must be identified, biomarker assay s validated for that model, and animal experiments conducted to identi fy the mode of action and target organ of a putative reproductive toxi cant. Finally, in vitro studies at the level of the cell and cell orga nelle are essential for mechanisms of toxicity to be clearly identifie d and understood. In this article we describe the interdisciplinary ap proach that we have developed for study of the effects of environmenta l agents on female reproductive functions. This effort requires specif ic skills of toxicologists, epidemiologists, physicians, biochemists, and physiologists.