Nuclear receptors play important roles in the maintenance of the endocrine system, regulation of organ differentiation, and fetal development. Endocrine disruptors exert their adverse effects by disrupting the endocrine system via various mechanisms. To assess the effects of endocrine disruptors on nuclear receptors, we developed a high-throughput method for identifying activators of nuclear re...

The effects of four endocrine disruptors: resveratrol, diphenylolpropane (bisphenol-A; BSP), benzophenone-3 (BP3) and silymarin on the secretory and proliferative activity of rat adrenocortical cells were investigated in vitro. Resveratrol and BP3 acutely increased basal corticosterone secretion from freshly dispersed adrenocortical cells, and resveratrol and BSP enhanced ACTH-stimulated cells....

Endocrine disruptors are man-made chemicals that can disrupt the synthesis, circulating levels, and peripheral action of hormones. The disruption of sex hormones was subject of intensive research, but thyroid hormone synthesis and signaling are now also recognized as important targets of endocrine disruptors. The neurological development of mammals is largely dependent on normal thyroid hormone...