Toppari Jorma
Departments of Pediatrics and Physiology, University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520 Turku, Finland.
Semin Reprod Med. 2002 Aug;20(3):305-12. doi: 10.1055/s-2002-35377.
Endocrine disrupters are exogenous substances that cause adverse effects in the endocrine system. Sexual differentiation is regulated by reproductive hormones. Male differentiation is critically dependent on normal androgen action, which in turn depends on normal production of luteinizing hormone. Other essential hormones include follicle-stimulating hormone, anti-Müllerian hormone, and insulin-like hormone 3 (insl-3). Estrogens influence transcription of insl-3 and affect sexual differentiation both directly and indirectly. Diethylstilbestrol is the best known endocrine disrupter and has caused abnormalities of sexual differentiation in both exposed male and female human fetuses. There is a growing group of chemicals that have weak estrogenic properties, but, in addition, there are several antiandrogenic compounds that have been shown to disturb sexual differentiation in experimental animals. It is a challenge for endocrinologists to find out whether or not these chemicals or mixtures of them are involved in any of the abnormalities of human sexual differentiation.
内分泌干扰物是指那些在内分泌系统中引发不良反应的外源性物质。性别分化受生殖激素调控。雄性分化严重依赖正常的雄激素作用，而这又反过来依赖促黄体生成素的正常分泌。其他重要激素包括促卵泡激素、抗苗勒管激素和胰岛素样激素3（Insl-3）。雌激素影响Insl-3的转录，并直接或间接地影响性别分化。己烯雌酚是最为人熟知的内分泌干扰物，它导致了人类胎儿（无论男女）的性别分化异常。有越来越多具有弱雌激素特性的化学物质，此外，还有几种抗雄激素化合物已被证明会干扰实验动物的性别分化。对于内分泌学家而言，要弄清楚这些化学物质或它们的混合物是否与人类性别分化异常有关是一项挑战。
