Emerging Estrogenic Pollutants in the Aquatic Environment and Breast Cancer
نویسندگان
چکیده
The number and amount of man-made chemicals present in the aquatic environment has increased considerably over the past 50 years. Among these contaminants, endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) represent a significant proportion. This family of compounds interferes with normal hormonal processes through multiple molecular pathways. They represent a potential risk for human and wildlife as they are suspected to be involved in the development of diseases including, but not limited to, reprotoxicity, metabolic disorders, and cancers. More precisely, several studies have suggested that the increase of breast cancers in industrialized countries is linked to exposure to EDCs, particularly estrogen-like compounds. Estrogen receptors alpha (ERα) and beta (ERβ) are the two main transducers of estrogen action and therefore important targets for these estrogen-like endocrine disrupters. More than 70% of human breast cancers are ERα-positive and estrogen-dependent, and their development and growth are not only influenced by endogenous estrogens but also likely by environmental estrogen-like endocrine disrupters. It is, therefore, of major importance to characterize the potential estrogenic activity from contaminated surface water and identify the molecules responsible for the hormonal effects. This information will help us understand how environmental contaminants can potentially impact the development of breast cancer and allow us to fix a maximal limit to the concentration of estrogen-like compounds that should be found in the environment. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of emerging estrogen-like compounds in the environment, sum up studies demonstrating their direct or indirect interactions with ERs, and link their presence to the development of breast cancer. Finally, we emphasize the use of in vitro and in vivo methods based on the zebrafish model to identify and characterize environmental estrogens.
منابع مشابه
Emerging Pollutants in Aquatic Environment: Source, Effect, and Challenges in Biomonitoring and Bioremediation- A Review
Emerging contaminants are distributed in to the environment from various anthropogenic activities. These Emerging contaminants (ECs) are mainly composed of products, such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products (PCPs), surfactants, plasticizers, pesticides etc. The present conventional system of waste treatment are not designed to treat these contaminants. Complex structure of these pollutan...
متن کاملEnvironmental Organochlorine Exposure and Risk of Breast Cancer
Polychlorobiphenyls (PCB’s) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) are persistent organic pollutants in the Great Lakes and other aquatic ecosystems. Currently in North America, human exposure to these compounds occurs primarily through the ingestion of contaminated fish, meat and dairy products. Many of these compounds have interacted with the estrogen receptor, but the interactions are com...
متن کاملEmerging Pollutants in Aquatic Environment: Source, Effect, and Challenges in Biomonitoring and Bioremediation- A Review
Emerging contaminants are distributed in to the environment from various anthropogenic activities. These Emerging contaminants (ECs) are mainly composed of products, such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products (PCPs), surfactants, plasticizers, pesticides etc. The present conventional system of waste treatment are not designed to treat these contaminants. Complex structure of these pollutan...
متن کاملA Review on the Importance of Hormones Monitoring and Their Removal in Conventional Wastewater Treatment Systems
Introduction: Micro pollutants have become one of the most important environmental concerns around the world. These natural and synthetic compounds have been called Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) due to their interfere with the normal function of the endocrine system in humans and animals. They include natural and synthetic hormones and their metabolites, surfactant, insecticide, as well...
متن کاملDeleterious effects of estrogenic endocrine disruptors on marine organisms: Histological Observed Effects and Some Novel Useful Monitoring Bioassays
Aquatic environments receive significant levels of chemical contaminants generated by human activities. Among these pollutants, we noticed the xenobiotics known as reproductive toxicants and endocrine disruptors. The endocrine disruption in wildlife has been the subject of many reviews and workshops in recent years. Field observations of reproductively abnormal organisms and population declines...
متن کامل