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Methods for Human and Murine Sperm Assays

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Short-Term Tests for Chemical Carcinogens

Part of the book series: Topics in Environmental Physiology and Medicine ((TEPHY))

Abstract

Recent human studies with dibromochloropropane (DBCP) illustrate that human exposure to a chemical toxin can have profound antispermatogenic effects, even at doses that show no other clinical signs of toxicity (e. g., Whorton et al., 1977; Sandifer et al., 1979). Studies in domestic animals, rodents, and humans show that sperm anomalies can be used as indicators and, in certain cases, dosimeters of induced antispermatogenic effects. Although induced sperm anomalies are clearly linked to testicular damage, their relationship to induced, heritable, genetic defects is not yet clear and is an active research area. Since sperm are such easy cells to obtain, can represent damage to the gonads, and can be studied in humans and model animals, sperm anomaly assays have received much attention in the fields of chemical mutagenesis and carcinogenesis screening.

This work was supported by the United States Department of Energy under contract #W-7045-ENG-48 and by the U.S. EPA under the Pass-Through Agreement.

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Authors
  1. A. J. Wyrobek
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Carcinogenesis Unit, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    H. F. Stich (Head) (Head)

  2. Carcinogen Testing Laboratory, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    R. H. C. San (Chief) (Chief)

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© 1981 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

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Wyrobek, A.J. (1981). Methods for Human and Murine Sperm Assays. In: Stich, H.F., San, R.H.C. (eds) Short-Term Tests for Chemical Carcinogens. Topics in Environmental Physiology and Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5847-6_36

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5847-6_36

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-5849-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-5847-6

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