Biology Department, University of Massachusetts, 611 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA.
Endocrinology. 2012 Sep;153(9):4097-110. doi: 10.1210/en.2012-1422. Epub 2012 Jun 25.
An endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) is an exogenous chemical, or mixture of chemicals, that can interfere with any aspect of hormone action. The potential for deleterious effects of EDC must be considered relative to the regulation of hormone synthesis, secretion, and actions and the variability in regulation of these events across the life cycle. The developmental age at which EDC exposures occur is a critical consideration in understanding their effects. Because endocrine systems exhibit tissue-, cell-, and receptor-specific actions during the life cycle, EDC can produce complex, mosaic effects. This complexity causes difficulty when a static approach to toxicity through endocrine mechanisms driven by rigid guidelines is used to identify EDC and manage risk to human and wildlife populations. We propose that principles taken from fundamental endocrinology be employed to identify EDC and manage their risk to exposed populations. We emphasize the importance of developmental stage and, in particular, the realization that exposure to a presumptive "safe" dose of chemical may impact a life stage when there is normally no endogenous hormone exposure, thereby underscoring the potential for very low-dose EDC exposures to have potent and irreversible effects. Finally, with regard to the current program designed to detect putative EDC, namely, the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program, we offer recommendations for strengthening this program through the incorporation of basic endocrine principles to promote further understanding of complex EDC effects, especially due to developmental exposures.
一种内分泌干扰化学物质（EDC）是一种外源性化学物质或化学物质混合物，它可以干扰激素作用的任何方面。必须考虑 EDC 的有害影响的可能性相对于激素合成、分泌和作用的调节以及这些事件在整个生命周期中的调节的可变性。EDC 暴露发生的发育年龄是理解其影响的关键考虑因素。由于内分泌系统在生命周期中表现出组织、细胞和受体特异性作用，EDC 可以产生复杂的镶嵌效应。这种复杂性使得通过基于刚性指南的内分泌机制的毒性的静态方法来识别 EDC 并管理对人类和野生动物种群的风险变得困难。我们建议采用从基础内分泌学中获得的原则来识别 EDC 并管理其对暴露人群的风险。我们强调发育阶段的重要性，特别是认识到暴露于假定的“安全”剂量的化学物质可能会影响通常没有内源性激素暴露的生命阶段，从而强调了极低剂量的 EDC 暴露对具有潜在和不可逆影响的可能性。最后，关于旨在检测推定的 EDC 的当前计划，即内分泌干扰物筛选计划，我们通过纳入基本内分泌原则来提出加强该计划的建议，以促进对复杂 EDC 影响的进一步理解，特别是由于发育暴露。
