Mori C
Department of Bioenvironmental Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology CREST, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-8670, Japan.
Kaibogaku Zasshi. 2001 Aug;76(4):361-8.
Endocrine disruptors act to alter blood hormone levels or the subsequent action of hormones, including effects on hormone production, release, transport, metabolism and/or elimination together with effects on cognate receptor binding and/or subsequent intracellular receptor actions. Confirmed alterations in reproductive development in wildlife species together with reports touting an increase in the incidence of human male reproductive tract abnormalities and decreased adult sperm counts in some parts of the world have increased public concern with endocrine disruptors. A biological plausible hypothesis has suggested that man-made chemicals act as endocrine disruptors resulting in altered development of the reproductive tract causing the observed effects. Based on current knowledge, the impact of endocrine disruptors on the male reproductive function remains to be appreciated. Epidemiological human studies are necessary to fill in the gap in our knowledge. Disturbances of hormonal regulation during fetal or postnatal development in humans may induce adverse effects on the male reproductive system, but these adverse effects of endocrine disruptors on humans are subtle, and difficult to research and detect. We have investigated fetal exposure to endocrine disruptors in Japan by analyzing umbilical cords, and changes of testis-weight in Japanese men by using analytical data of necropsy. This mini-review summarizes current endocrine disruptor issues on possible effects of endocrine disruptors on male reproductive function and the results of our recent research.
内分泌干扰物的作用是改变血液中的激素水平或激素的后续作用，包括对激素产生、释放、运输、代谢和/或消除的影响，以及对同源受体结合和/或后续细胞内受体作用的影响。野生动物物种生殖发育的确认改变，以及世界某些地区关于人类男性生殖道异常发生率增加和成年男性精子数量减少的报道，加剧了公众对内分泌干扰物的关注。一个生物学上合理的假设表明，人造化学物质作为内分泌干扰物，导致生殖道发育改变，从而产生观察到的影响。根据目前的知识，内分泌干扰物对男性生殖功能的影响仍有待认识。需要进行流行病学人体研究来填补我们知识上的空白。人类胎儿期或出生后发育过程中激素调节的紊乱可能会对男性生殖系统产生不利影响，但内分泌干扰物对人类的这些不利影响很微妙，难以研究和检测。我们通过分析脐带研究了日本胎儿接触内分泌干扰物的情况，并利用尸检分析数据研究了日本男性睾丸重量的变化。这篇综述总结了当前关于内分泌干扰物对男性生殖功能可能影响的问题以及我们最近的研究结果。
