[Press Release, July 14 / Unofficial translation] Domestically developed endocrine disruptor screening method approved as a test guideline of OECD - Expected to reduce cost by non-animal testing methods - □ The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (Minister Eui-kyung Lee) announced that the endocrine disruptor screening method developed in Korea (jointly conducted by the National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation, Korea University and Dongkuk University) has been approved as a test guideline of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). * International standard testing methods are being developed and distributed by the OECD for the international management of endocrine disrupting chemicals. ○ This approved(OECD) test method uses human prostate cancer cell lines with androgen receptors to determine the transcriptional activation and inhibition between the receptor and the chemical to assess whether there is endocrine disrupting chemical. * Test method: Androgen receptor transactivation(ARTA) test guideline using glucocorticoid knockout human prostate cancer cell lines (22Rv1/MMTV_GR-KO) to detect androgenic activity of chemicals - The test method’s accuracy has been improved in comparison to the previous test methods by removing glucocorticoid receptors that interfere with androgen reactions using gene-editing techniques. ○ It is expected to reduce the budget(cost) of academia and reserch institutes, since the test method can non-animal testing. - Also, it will be highly utilized in the nonclinical tests of new materials because it can screen endocrine disrupting chemicals quickly and easily. □ The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has confidence that it will continue to contribute to enhancing the reputation of the nation through related research and international cooperation for the safety management of endocrine disrupting chemicals. ○ This OECD test guideline (Test No. 458, Korean version) is available on the website of the National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation (http://www.nifds.go.kr) > Information Yard> Publication and Data Collection. ○ The cell stocks (22Rv1/MMTV_GR-KO) for the test method can be obtained at the Korean Collection for Type Cultures (KCTC) (contact 82-63-570-5603).