Unit of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes, Evgenidion Hospital, University of Athens, Papadiamantopoulou 20, 11520, Athens, Greece,
Endocrine. 2015 Feb;48(1):53-64. doi: 10.1007/s12020-014-0442-4. Epub 2014 Oct 8.
Industrial chemical contaminants have a variable impact on the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis, this depending both on their class and on confounding factors. Today, mounting evidence is pointing to the role of environmental factors, and specifically EDCs, in the current distressing upsurge in the incidence of thyroid disease. The unease is warranted. These substances, which are nowadays rife in our environments (including in foodstuffs), have been shown to interfere with thyroid hormone action, biosynthesis, and metabolism, resulting in disruption of tissue homeostasis and/or thyroid function. Importantly, based on the concept of the "nonmonotonic dose-response curve", the relationship between dose and effect has often been found to be nonlinear. Thus, small doses can induce unpredictable, adverse effects, one case being polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), of which congener(s) may centrally inhibit the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis, or dissociate thyroid receptor and selectively affect thyroid hormone signaling and action. This means that PCBs can act as agonists or antagonists at the receptor level, underlining the complexity of the interaction. This review highlights the multifold activity of chemicals demonstrated to cause thyroid disruption. It also represents a call to action among clinicians to undertake systematic monitoring of thyroid function and registering of the classes of EDs and additionally urges broader scientific collaborations to clarify these chemicals' molecular mechanisms of action, substances whose prevalence in our environments is disrupting not only the thyroid but all life on earth.
工业化学污染物对下丘脑-垂体-甲状腺轴有不同的影响，这既取决于其类别，也取决于混杂因素。如今，越来越多的证据表明，环境因素，特别是环境内分泌干扰物，在当前甲状腺疾病发病率令人担忧的上升中发挥了作用。这种担忧是有根据的。这些物质现在在我们的环境中（包括食物中）大量存在，已被证明会干扰甲状腺激素的作用、生物合成和代谢，导致组织平衡和/或甲状腺功能紊乱。重要的是，基于“非单调剂量-反应曲线”的概念，剂量与效应之间的关系经常被发现是非线性的。因此，小剂量可能会引起不可预测的不良反应，一个例子是多氯联苯（PCBs），其同系物可能会中枢抑制下丘脑-垂体-甲状腺轴，或分离甲状腺受体并选择性影响甲状腺激素信号和作用。这意味着 PCBs 可以在受体水平上作为激动剂或拮抗剂发挥作用，强调了相互作用的复杂性。这篇综述强调了已被证明会导致甲状腺紊乱的化学物质的多重活性。它也呼吁临床医生对甲状腺功能进行系统监测，并对 ED 类物质进行登记，并敦促更广泛的科学合作来阐明这些化学物质的作用机制，这些物质在我们环境中的存在不仅扰乱了甲状腺，也扰乱了地球上所有的生命。
