http://faculty.wwu.edu/~shulld/ESCI%20101/Andrady2011Plastics.pdf

Microplastics in the marine environment

Thereisgrowinginterestinthepossiblehealththreatposedbyendocrine-disruptingchemicals (EDCs), which are substances in our environment, food, and consumer products that interfere with hormone biosynthesis, metabolism, or action resulting in a deviation from normal homeostatic control or reproduction. In this first Scientific Statement of The Endocrine Society, we present the evidence that endocrine disruptors have effects on male and female reproduction, breast development and cancer, prostate cancer, neuroendocrinology, thyroid, metabolism and obesity, and cardiovascular endocrinology. Results from animal models, human clinical observations, and epidemiological studies converge to implicate EDCs as a significant concern to public health. The mechanisms of EDCs involve divergent pathways including (but not limited to) estrogenic, antiandrogenic, thyroid, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor , retinoid, and actions through other nuclear receptors; steroidogenic enzymes; neurotransmitter receptors and systems; and many other pathways that are highly conserved in wildlife and humans, and which can be modeled in laboratory in vitro and in vivo models. Furthermore, EDCs represent a broad class of molecules such as organochlorinated pesticides and industrial chemicals, plastics and plasticizers, fuels, and many other chemicals that are present in the environment or are in widespread use. We make a number of recommendations to increase understanding of effects of EDCs, including enhancing increased basic and clinical research, invoking the precautionary principle, and advocating involvement of individual and scientific society stakeholders in communicating and implementing changes in public policy and awareness. (Endocrine Reviews 30: 293–342, 2009)

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Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement

Core/Shell Nanoparticles: Classes, Properties, Synthesis Mechanisms, Characterization, and Applications

For decades, studies of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have challenged traditional concepts in toxicology, in particular the dogma of “the dose makes the poison,” because EDCs can have effects at low doses that are not predicted by effects at higher doses. Here, we review two major concepts in EDC studies: low dose and nonmonotonicity. Low-dose effects were defined by the National Toxicology Program as those that occur in the range of human exposures or effects observed at doses below those used for traditional toxicological studies. We review the mechanistic data for low-dose effects and use a weight-of-evidence approach to analyze five examples from the EDC literature. Additionally, we explore nonmonotonic dose-response curves, defined as a nonlinear relationship between dose and effect where the slope of the curve changes sign somewhere within the range of doses examined. We provide a detailed discussion of the mechanisms responsible for generating these phenomena, plus hundreds of examples from...

/pdf/hormones-and-endocrine-disrupting-chemicals-low-dose-effects-2vn32zoqc8.pdf

Hormones and endocrine-disrupting chemicals: Low-dose effects and nonmonotonic dose responses

The loss of chromosomal integrity from DNA double-strand breaks introduced into mammalian cells by ionizing radiation results in the specific phosphorylation of histone H2AX on serine residue 139, yielding a specific modified form named γ-H2AX. An antibody prepared to the unique region of human γ-H2AX shows that H2AX homologues are phosphorylated not only in irradiated mammalian cells but also in irradiated cells from other species, including Xenopus laevis, Drosophila melanogaster, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The antibody reveals that γ-H2AX appears as discrete nuclear foci within 1 min after exposure of cells to ionizing radiation. The numbers of these foci are comparable to the numbers of induced DNA double-strand breaks. When DNA double-strand breaks are introduced into specific partial nuclear volumes of cells by means of a pulsed microbeam laser, γ-H2AX foci form at these sites. In mitotic cells from cultures exposed to nonlethal amounts of ionizing radiation, γ-H2AX foci form band-like structures on chromosome arms and on the end of broken arms. These results offer direct visual confirmation that γ-H2AX forms en masse at chromosomal sites of DNA double-strand breaks. The results further suggest the possible existence of units of higher order chromatin structure involved in monitoring DNA integrity.

/pdf/megabase-chromatin-domains-involved-in-dna-double-strand-1pw1vrkkae.pdf

Megabase chromatin domains involved in DNA double-strand breaks in vivo.

Discrepancies in adverse trends in male reproductive health around the world are due in part to the difficulty of comparing studies from different time periods with distinct study populations and varied clinical definitions and diagnostic criteria for these processes. In this context, the apparent increase in the incidence of cryptorchidism and hypospadias in the Western world over recent decades, with a leveling off in hypospadias incidence in most European countries during the 1980s, can be questioned due to differences in case definitions, age at diagnosis, examination techniques, and study populations, e.g., registry versus cohort studies. Experimental investigations have supported the hypothesis of a link between environmental factors and urogenital tract malformations, suggesting that cryptorchidism and hypospadias are associated with exposure to environmental chemicals, especially those identified as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Exposure to EDCs during pregnancy may play a role in the development of male sexual disorders because sexual differentiation and reproductive functioning are critically dependent on the ratio of androgens to estrogens, and an imbalance in this ratio may be responsible for male congenital anomalies. Epidemiology studies have also indicated a link between EDCs and malformations. The accumulated evidence appears sufficient to endorse a precautionary approach, with the implementation of measures to reduce community exposure to EDCs, especially in women of childbearing age, both before and during pregnancy.

Developmental Exposure to Endocrine Disruptors and Male Urogenital Tract Malformations

https://scielo.isciii.es/pdf/gs/v21n6/revisiones2.pdf

Exposición a disruptores endocrinos y alteraciones del tracto urogenital masculino (criptorquidia e hipospadias)

Comments on "Determination of bisphenol A and related aromatic compounds released from Bis-GMA-based composites and sealants by high performance liquid chromatography." by ulgar R, Olea-Serrano MF,...

/pdf/bisphenol-a-and-dental-sealants-olea-s-response-vn9nac1x7q.pdf

Bisphenol A and Dental Sealants: Olea's Response.

Numerosos estudios han asociado las patologias observadas en distintas especies animales y en el hombre con la exposicion a contaminantes medio ambientales con actividad hormonal. Se ha acunado el termino de disruptores endocrinos (Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals / EDCs) para definir el conjunto de compuestos quimicos que interaccionan con el sistema endocrino, sobre el que inducen efectos potencialmente debidos a su capacidad para:1) mimetizar la accion de las hormonas endogenas; 2) antagonizar la accion de las hormonas; 3) alterar su patron de sintesis y metabolismo; o bien 4) modular los niveles de los receptores correspondientes.La exposicion humana a disruptores endocrinos es universal y puede provenir de numerosas fuentes. Ademas, los compuestos acumulados en la grasa son transmitidos a la descendencia a traves de la madre durante la gestacion y despues de la lactancia.Los efectos sobre la salud humana de la exposicicion continua a los disruptores endocrinos necesitan ser investigados en mas profundidad.

/pdf/exposicion-humana-a-disruptores-endocrinos-20kxjm276g.pdf

Nicolás Olea

Papers

Developmental Exposure to Endocrine Disruptors and Male Urogenital Tract Malformations

Exposición a disruptores endocrinos y alteraciones del tracto urogenital masculino (criptorquidia e hipospadias)

Bisphenol A and Dental Sealants: Olea's Response.

Exposición humana a disruptores endocrinos

Analytical methodology for the profiling and characterization of androgen receptor active compounds in human placenta.