scholarly journals Epigenetics, Evolution, Endocrine Disruption, Health, and Disease

Endocrinology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 147 (6) ◽  
pp. s4-s10 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Crews ◽  
John A. McLachlan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Endocrine Disruption ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals ◽  
Epigenetic Mechanisms ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Risk Levels ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting ◽  
Increase Risk ◽  
Health And Disease

Abstract Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in the environment have been linked to human health and disease. This is particularly evident in compounds that mimic the effects of estrogens. Exposure to EDCs early in life can increase risk levels of compromised physical and mental health. Epigenetic mechanisms have been implicated in this process. Transgenerational consequences of EDC exposure is also discussed in both a proximate (mechanism) and ultimate (evolution) context as well as recent work suggesting how such transmission might become incorporated into the genome and subject to selection. We suggest a perspective for exploring and ultimately coming to understand diseases that may have environmental or endocrine origins.

scholarly journals Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: Current Understanding, New Testing Strategies and Future Research Needs

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 933
Author(s):  
Maria E. Street ◽  
Karine Audouze ◽  
Juliette Legler ◽  
Hideko Sone ◽  
Paola Palanza
Keyword(s):  
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals ◽  
Endocrine System ◽  
Current Understanding ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Developmental Origins ◽  
Research Needs ◽  
Important Class ◽  
Testing Strategies ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting ◽  
Health And Disease

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are exogenous chemicals which can disrupt any action of the endocrine system, and are an important class of substances which play a role in the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) [...]

scholarly journals Developmental Exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals and Its Impact on Cardio-Metabolic-Renal Health

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Radha Dutt Singh ◽  
Kavita Koshta ◽  
Ratnakar Tiwari ◽  
Hafizurrahman Khan ◽  
Vineeta Sharma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Energy Homeostasis ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals ◽  
Developmental Exposure ◽  
Adverse Health Outcomes ◽  
Early Life Exposure ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting ◽  
Similar Mode ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Hormone System

Developmental origin of health and disease postulates that the footprints of early life exposure are followed as an endowment of risk for adult diseases. Epidemiological and experimental evidence suggest that an adverse fetal environment can affect the health of offspring throughout their lifetime. Exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) during fetal development can affect the hormone system homeostasis, resulting in a broad spectrum of adverse health outcomes. In the present review, we have described the effect of prenatal EDCs exposure on cardio-metabolic-renal health, using the available epidemiological and experimental evidence. We also discuss the potential mechanisms of their action, which include epigenetic changes, hormonal imprinting, loss of energy homeostasis, and metabolic perturbations. The effect of prenatal EDCs exposure on cardio-metabolic-renal health, which is a complex condition of an altered biological landscape, can be further examined in the case of other environmental stressors with a similar mode of action.

scholarly journals Epigenetic modifications associated with in utero exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals BPA, DDT and Pb

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 309-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chinonye Doris Onuzulu ◽  
Oluwakemi Anuoluwapo Rotimi ◽  
Solomon Oladapo Rotimi
Keyword(s):  
Endocrine Disruptors ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals ◽  
Endocrine System ◽  
Environmental Chemicals ◽  
Epigenetic Mechanisms ◽  
Epigenetic Alterations ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting ◽  
Non Coding Rnas ◽  
Hormone System ◽  
Developmental Windows

Abstract Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are xenobiotics which adversely modify the hormone system. The endocrine system is most vulnerable to assaults by endocrine disruptors during the prenatal and early development window, and effects may persist into adulthood and across generations. The prenatal stage is a period of vulnerability to environmental chemicals because the epigenome is usually reprogrammed during this period. Bisphenol A (BPA), lead (Pb), and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) were chosen for critical review because they have become serious public health concerns globally, especially in Africa where they are widely used without any regulation. In this review, we introduce EDCs and describe the various modes of action of EDCs and the importance of the prenatal and developmental windows to EDC exposure. We give a brief overview of epigenetics and describe the various epigenetic mechanisms: DNA methylation, histone modifications and non-coding RNAs, and how each of them affects gene expression. We then summarize findings from previous studies on the effects of prenatal exposure to the endocrine disruptors BPA, Pb and DDT on each of the previously described epigenetic mechanisms. We also discuss how the epigenetic alterations caused by these EDCs may be related to disease processes.

Gestational Exposure to Common Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals and Their Impact on Neurodevelopment and Behavior

2020 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinushan Nesan ◽  
Deborah M. Kurrasch
Keyword(s):  
Endocrine Disruption ◽  
Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals ◽  
Lactational Exposure ◽  
Gestational Exposure ◽  
Early Life Exposure ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting ◽  
Physiological Homeostasis ◽  
Nervous System Function

Endocrine disrupting chemicals are common in our environment and act on hormone systems and signaling pathways to alter physiological homeostasis. Gestational exposure can disrupt developmental programs, permanently altering tissues with impacts lasting into adulthood. The brain is a critical target for developmental endocrine disruption, resulting in altered neuroendocrine control of hormonal signaling, altered neurotransmitter control of nervous system function, and fundamental changes in behaviors such as learning, memory, and social interactions. Human cohort studies reveal correlations between maternal/fetal exposure to endocrine disruptors and incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders. Here, we summarize the major literature findings of endocrine disruption of neurodevelopment and concomitant changes in behavior by four major endocrine disruptor classes:bisphenol A, polychlorinated biphenyls, organophosphates, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers. We specifically review studies of gestational and/or lactational exposure to understand the effects of early life exposure to these compounds and summarize animal studies that help explain human correlative data.

Engaging Undergraduates in the Scientific Process: Exploring Invertebrate Endocrine Disruption

2016 ◽  
Vol 78 (5) ◽  
pp. 410-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Layton ◽  
Jason Belden
Keyword(s):  
Endocrine Disruption ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Female Offspring ◽  
Reproduction Rate ◽  
Interest In Science ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Reproductive Study ◽  
Analyze Data

Engaging students in the process of science to increase learning and critical thinking has become a key emphasis in undergraduate education. Introducing environmental topics, such as the effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, into undergraduate courses offers a new means to increase student engagement. Daphnia magna can serve as a model organism for endocrine disruption, and its ease of handling, rapid reproduction rate, and clearly defined endpoints make it useful in short-term, student research projects. The concept of endocrine disruption can be tested through a 21-day reproductive study of D. magna exposed to varying concentrations of the pesticide fenoxycarb. Students will observe an altered reproduction rate and increased production of males under conditions that would typically result only in the production of female offspring. This research system allows students to formulate hypotheses, set up experiments, analyze data, and present results, leading to a greater appreciation of and interest in science.

scholarly journals Hormone-Activated Estrogen Receptors in Annelid Invertebrates: Implications for Evolution and Endocrine Disruption

Endocrinology ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 150 (4) ◽  
pp. 1731-1738 ◽  
Author(s):  
June Keay ◽  
Joseph W. Thornton
Keyword(s):  
Estrogen Receptors ◽  
Endocrine Disruption ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals ◽  
Estrogen Signaling ◽  
Estrogen Sensitivity ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting ◽  
Platynereis Dumerilii ◽  
Bilaterian Animal ◽  
Capitella Capitata ◽  
And Behavior

As the primary mediators of estrogen signaling in vertebrates, estrogen receptors (ERs) play crucial roles in reproduction, development, and behavior. They are also the major mediators of endocrine disruption by xenobiotic pollutants that mimic or block estrogen action. ERs that are sensitive to estrogen and endocrine disrupters have long been thought to be restricted to vertebrates: although there is evidence for estrogen signaling in invertebrates, the only ERs studied to date, from mollusks and cephalochordates, have been insensitive to estrogen and therefore incapable of mediating estrogen signaling or disruption. To determine whether estrogen sensitivity is ancestral or a unique characteristic of vertebrate ERs, we isolated and characterized ERs from two annelids, Platynereis dumerilii and Capitella capitata, because annelids are the sister phylum to mollusks and have been shown to produce and respond to estrogens. Functional assays show that annelid ERs specifically activate transcription in response to low estrogen concentrations and bind estrogen with high affinity. Furthermore, numerous known endocrine-disrupting chemicals activate or antagonize the annelid ER. This is the first report of a hormone-activated invertebrate ER. Our results indicate that estrogen signaling via the ER is as ancient as the ancestral bilaterian animal and corroborate the estrogen sensitivity of the ancestral steroid receptor. They suggest that the taxonomic scope of endocrine disruption by xenoestrogens may be very broad and reveal how functional diversity evolved in a gene family central to animal endocrinology.

scholarly journals Environmental epigenetics: a role in endocrine disease?

2012 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. R61-R67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abby F Fleisch ◽  
Robert O Wright ◽  
Andrea A Baccarelli
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals ◽  
Environmental Exposures ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Epigenetic Mechanisms ◽  
Endocrine Effects ◽  
Endocrine Disease ◽  
Environmental Epigenetics ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting

Endocrine disrupting chemicals that are structurally similar to steroid or amine hormones have the potential to mimic endocrine endpoints at the receptor level. However, more recently, epigenetic-induced alteration in gene expression has emerged as an alternative way in which environmental compounds may exert endocrine effects. We review concepts related to environmental epigenetics and relevance for endocrinology through three broad examples: 1) effect of early-life nutritional exposures on future obesity and insulin resistance, 2) effect of lifetime environmental exposures such as ionizing radiation on endocrine cancer risk, and 3) potential for compounds previously classified as endocrine disrupting to additionally or alternatively exert effects through epigenetic mechanisms. The field of environmental epigenetics is still nascent, and additional studies are needed to confirm and reinforce data derived from animal models and preliminary human studies. Current evidence suggests that environmental exposures may significantly impact expression of endocrine-related genes and thereby affect clinical endocrine outcomes.

scholarly journals The Dutch Microbiome Project defines factors that shape the healthy gut microbiome

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Gacesa ◽  
A. Kurilshikov ◽  
A. Vich Vila ◽  
T. Sinha ◽  
M.A.Y. Klaassen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Medication Use ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Generational Cohort ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Bacterial Composition ◽  
Associated Bacteria ◽  
Health And Disease

AbstractThe gut microbiome is associated with diverse diseases, but the universal signature of an (un)healthy microbiome remains elusive and there is a need to understand how genetics, exposome, lifestyle and diet shape the microbiome in health and disease. To fill this gap, we profiled bacterial composition, function, antibiotic resistance and virulence factors in the gut microbiomes of 8,208 Dutch individuals from a three-generational cohort comprising 2,756 families. We then correlated this to 241 host and environmental factors, including physical and mental health, medication use, diet, socioeconomic factors and childhood and current exposome. We identify that the microbiome is primarily shaped by environment and cohousing. Only ∼13% of taxa are heritable, which are enriched with highly prevalent and health-associated bacteria. By identifying 2,856 associations between microbiome and health, we find that seemingly unrelated diseases share a common signature that is independent of comorbidities. Furthermore, we identify 7,519 associations between microbiome features and diet, socioeconomics and early life and current exposome, of which numerous early-life and current factors are particularly linked to the microbiome. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive overview of gut microbiome and the underlying impact of heritability and exposures that will facilitate future development of microbiome-targeted therapies.

Mental and physical gradualism in Graeco-Roman medicine

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orly Lewis ◽  
Chiara Thumiger ◽  
Philip van der Eijk
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Medical Attention ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Roman Medicine

The aim of this chapter is to explore how ancient medical ideas offer relevant parallels to the modern notions of degree vagueness and combinatorial vagueness with respect to mental health and its management. By closely examining several key examples, this chapter argues that Graeco-Roman physicians recognized physical and mental health as states that admit of gradation and were aware of the nuances, variations, and even the relativity of the distinction between ‘healthy’ and ‘ill’. When it comes to notions of physical and mental health, these nuances are both quantitative and qualitative. One of the characteristics of Graeco-Roman medicine is the consideration given to a body–mind continuum as something that is subject to health and disease and can be the object of medical attention. Section 2 introduces ancient conceptions of physical health and demonstrates the relevance of degree and combinatorial vagueness in this domain. Section 3 focuses on mental health.

Developing a Laboratory Animal Model for Perinatal Endocrine Disruption: The Hamster Chronicles

2002 ◽  
Vol 227 (9) ◽  
pp. 709-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Hendry ◽  
Daniel M. Sheehan ◽  
Shafiq A. Khan ◽  
Jeffrey V. May
Keyword(s):  
Endocrine Disruption ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Developmental Toxicity ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals ◽  
Experimental System ◽  
Endocrine Disrupting ◽  
Considerable Concern ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Future Plans

At the biomedical, regulatory, and public level, considerable concern surrounds the concept that inappropriate exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, especially during the prenatal and/or neonatal period, may disrupt normal reproductive tract development and adult function. The intent of this review was to 1. Describe some unique advantages of the hamster for perinatal endocrine disruptor (ED) studies, 2. Summarize the morphological and molecular consequences of exposure to the established perinatal ED, diethylstilbestrol, in the female and male hamster, 3. Present some new, histomorphological insight into the process of neonatal diethylstilbestrol-induced disruption in the hamster uterus, and 4. Introduce recent efforts and future plans to evaluate the potency and mechanism of action of other putative EDs in the hamster experimental system. Taken together, the findings indicate that the hamster represents a unique and sensitive in vivo system to probe the phenomenon of endocrine disruption. The spectrum of candidate endpoints includes developmental toxicity, neoplasia, and more subtle endpoints of reproductive dysfunction.

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