Toxicogenomic approaches in developmental toxicology testing.

The emergence of toxicogenomic applications provides new tools to characterize, classify, and potentially predict teratogens. However, due to the vast number of experimental and statistical procedural steps, toxicogenomic studies are challenging. Here, we guide researchers through the basic framework of conducting toxicogenomic investigations in the field of developmental toxicology, providing examples of biological and technical factors that may influence response and interpretation. Furthermore, we review current, diverse applications of toxicogenomic-based approaches in teratology testing, including exposure-response characterization (dose and duration), chemical classification studies, and cross-model comparisons study designs. This review is intended to guide scientists through the challenging and complex structure of conducting toxicogenomic analyses, while considering the many applications of using toxicogenomics in study designs and the future of these types of "omics" approaches in developmental toxicology.