Figure 5.

Flowchart representing the experimental sequence to be followed to test the different endocrine-disrupting activities related to a potential EDC (pEDC). After exposing embryos from 48–120 hpf (Step 1), gene expression is analyzed by qPCR (Step 2). The number of genes selected may depend on the pathway and organ of interest (specific targets are shown in brackets). Note that, in the case of not testing anti-endocrine responses, all three endocrine activities may be assessed in a single experiment by analyzing the expression of the eight genes of the panel. Evaluation of anti-estrogenicity and anti-androgenicity requires co-exposure with effective model compounds (e.g., E2 and TES, respectively).