Department of Pediatrics, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan.
Kaohsiung J Med Sci. 2012 Jul;28(7 Suppl):S37-42. doi: 10.1016/j.kjms.2012.05.008. Epub 2012 Jul 4.
During recent decades more than 100,000 new chemicals have been introduced as common consumer products into our environment. Among these chemicals, endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are of particular concern owing to their toxicity in animal studies and their impacts on human health. EDCs are ubiquitous in the environment, including the air, water, and soil. The endocrine-disrupting effect of EDCs has been found to imitate the action of steroid hormones and promote several endocrine and reproductive disorders in both animal and human studies. In the present review, we focus on the effects of EDCs on the immune system. EDCs interfere with the synthesis of cytokines, immunoglobulins, and inflammatory mediators, and they also affect the activation and survival of immune cells. The dysfunction of the immune system caused by EDCs may lead to the attenuation of immunity (immunodeficiency) against infection or hyperreactivity of immune responses (allergy and autoimmune disease). In this review, we summarize epidemiologic, animal, and cell studies to demonstrate the potential effects of EDCs on immunity, allergy, and autoimmune diseases. We also address the impact of EDCs on epigenetic regulation.
在最近几十年中，已有超过 10 万种新的化学物质作为常见的消费产品进入我们的环境。在这些化学物质中，内分泌干扰化学物质（EDCs）因其在动物研究中的毒性及其对人类健康的影响而引起特别关注。EDCs 普遍存在于环境中，包括空气、水和土壤。EDCs 的内分泌干扰作用已被发现模仿类固醇激素的作用，并在动物和人类研究中促进多种内分泌和生殖系统疾病。在本综述中，我们重点关注 EDCs 对免疫系统的影响。EDCs 会干扰细胞因子、免疫球蛋白和炎症介质的合成，还会影响免疫细胞的激活和存活。EDCs 导致的免疫系统功能障碍可能导致对感染的免疫力减弱（免疫缺陷）或免疫反应的过度反应（过敏和自身免疫性疾病）。在本综述中，我们总结了流行病学、动物和细胞研究，以证明 EDCs 对免疫、过敏和自身免疫性疾病的潜在影响。我们还讨论了 EDCs 对表观遗传调控的影响。
