Our Research

Our approach is to develop a testing battery of in vivo, in vitro and in silico models with human relevance for testing and screening chemicals for endocrine disrupting properties impacting on neurodevelopment. The project concept is based on two pilars.

• Module 1: Test method development. Establishment of correlative and causal links between the modulation of endocrine pathways and DNT endpoints. 
• Module 2: Human & regulatory relevance of the developed test methods. Establishment of human relevance by linking experimental and epidemiological evidence and regulatory impact by continuous interaction with stakeholders.

ENDpoiNTs will:

• Develop new testing and screening methods to identify endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that induce human developmental  neurotoxicity (DNT)
• Generate new scientific knowledge on the link between endocrine disruption and DNT at the molecular, cellular, tissue, organism and behavioural level.
• Provide strategies to integrate these methods into European and international chemical regulatory frameworks.

Test compounds

For the ENDpoiNTs project, a set of test compounds were selected that are  relevant for endocrine-induced developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) and are also relevant to human health. ENDpoiNTs will employ a sets of test compounds that are tailored for specific research questions. The chosen in vitro and in vivo assays and endpoints will be tested for their responsiveness to the identified relevant endocrine pathways. One of the main aims of ENDpoiNTs is to causally link disruption of endocrine pathways to developmental neurotoxicity endpoints on different levels (molecular, cellular, organismal) that are relevant for human health. The following test compounds were selected which are known or suspected endocrine disruptors associated with impaired human neurodevelopment: