1. The in vivo alkaline comet (single cell gel electrophoresis) assay (hereafter called simply the comet assay) is used for the detection of DNA strand breaks in cells or nuclei isolated from multiple tissues of animals, usually rodents, that have been exposed to potentially genotoxic material(s). The comet assay has been reviewed and recommendations have been published by various expert groups (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10). This Test Guideline is part of a series of Test Guidelines on genetic toxicology. A document presented as an Introduction to the Test Guidelines on genotoxicity (11) can also be referred to and provides succinct and useful guidance to users of these Test Guidelines.

Oecd guideline for testing of chemicals

NTP Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction: phthalates expert panel report on the reproductive and developmental toxicity of di-n-butyl phthalate ☆

Fertilin, a member of the ADAM family, is found on the plasma membrane of mammalian sperm. Sperm from mice lacking fertilin beta were shown to be deficient in sperm-egg membrane adhesion, sperm-egg fusion, migration from the uterus into the oviduct, and binding to the egg zona pellucida. Egg activation was unaffected. The results are consistent with a direct role of fertilin in sperm-egg plasma membrane interaction. Fertilin could also have a direct role in sperm-zona binding or oviduct migration; alternatively, the effects on these functions could result from the absence of fertilin activity during spermatogenesis.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/281/5384/1857.full.pdf

Fertilization Defects in Sperm from Mice Lacking Fertilin β

Much of the work of the pathologist in understanding male reproductive toxicity comes from trying to understand the initial site of toxicant action – that is, distinguishing the initial effects from the follow-on events. These changes can happen because of, or completely independent of, initial impacts on male reproductive hormones. Fortunately, the patterns of response and the holistic evaluation of a wide variety of different but complementary data allow for considerable confidence in assigning an initiating site of action. This chapter will review the anatomy and physiology as well as successful strategies for understanding toxicities in this complicated and sublime multi-organ system.

Male Reproductive System

Reproductive Toxicity and Tissue Concentrations of Low Doses of 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin in Male Offspring Rats Exposed Throughout Pregnancy and Lactation☆☆☆

Methods for assessing sperm motility, morphology, and counts in the rat, rabbit, and dog: a consensus report. ILSI Risk Science Institute Expert Working Group on Sperm Evaluation.

L. D. Wise

Papers

Methods for assessing sperm motility, morphology, and counts in the rat, rabbit, and dog: a consensus report. ILSI Risk Science Institute Expert Working Group on Sperm Evaluation.