During embryonic development, endogenous signals, for example steroid hormones, and exogenous signals, for example endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), have the capacity to produce phenotypic effects that persist into adulthood. As the actions of steroids are mediated through the binding of steroid receptors, most studies of EDCs have assumed that they too elicit their effects by binding ster...

Endocrine-disrupting compounds are exogenous agents that interfere with the natural hormones of the body. Human biological monitoring is a powerful method for monitoring exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds. In this review, we describe human biological monitoring systems for different groups of endocrine disrupting compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls, brominated flame retardants, phthala...

Various endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) such as bisphenol A (BPA), alkylphenols [4-nonylphenol (NP) and 4-tert octylphenol (OP)] and isobutylparaben (IBP) are a constant concern due to their widespread distribution. It has been reported that some combinations of hormone-disrupting chemicals are much more powerful than any of the chemicals alone. In this study, we measured the expression o...

Abnormal sexual differentiation and other reproductive abnormalities in marine animals indicate the presence in seawater of endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) that perturb the function of the sex hormone signaling pathways. However, most studies to date have reported on EDC effects in freshwater and sewage samples, and there is a paucity of bioassay data on the effects of EDCs in marine wate...

BACKGROUND Several environmental agents termed "endocrine disrupting compounds" or EDCs have been reported to bind and activate the estrogen receptor-α (ER). The EDCs DDT and BPA are ubiquitously present in the environment, and DDT and BPA levels in human blood and adipose tissue are detectable in most if not all women and men. ER-mediated biological responses can be regulated at numerous level...

4 11 Multimedia Analytical Approaches to Monitoring and Measuring Suspect Endocrine Disrupting Compounds. INTRODUCTION Environmental Endocrine Disruptors (EEDs), endocrine modifying chemicals which are also environmental pollutants, are the subject of a special session at the 13th Annual Waste Testing & Quality Assurance Symposium sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and ...

For decades, hazard assessments for environmental chemicals have used intra-gastric gavage to assess the effects of 'oral' exposures. It is now widely used--and in some cases required--by US federal agencies to assess potential toxicity of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). In this review we enumerate several reasons why gavage is not appropriate for the assessment of EDCs using bisphenol A...

Pharmaceutically active compounds (PACs) and hormones have been discovered in various wastewater, surface and ground waters, and are widely dispersed in the environment. Excretion, unrestrained drug disposal, discard of medicines and veterinary applications constitute the main pathways by which these organic pollutants reach the environment. In this study, recent research on the occurrence, ana...

Acting as hormone mimics or antagonists in the interaction with hormone receptors, endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have the potentials of disturbing the endocrine system in sex steroid hormone-controlled organs and tissues. These effects may lead to the disruption of major regulatory mechanisms, the onset of developmental disorders, and carcinogenesis. Especially, among diverse EDCs, xeno...

Endocrine-disruptor compounds (EDCs) can mimic natural hormones and produce adverse effects in the endocrine functions by interacting with estrogen receptors. EDCs include both natural and synthetic chemicals, such as hormones, personal care products, surfactants, and flame retardants, among others. EDCs are characterised by their ubiquitous presence at trace-level concentrations and their wide...