Sifakis Stavros, Androutsopoulos Vasilis P, Tsatsakis Aristeidis M, Spandidos Demetrios A
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Crete, Medical School, Heraklion, GR 71003, Greece.
Department of Clinical Virology, University of Crete, Medical School, Heraklion, GR 71003, Greece.
Environ Toxicol Pharmacol. 2017 Apr;51:56-70. doi: 10.1016/j.etap.2017.02.024. Epub 2017 Mar 6.
Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) comprise a group of chemical compounds that have been examined extensively due to the potential harmful effects in the health of human populations. During the past decades, particular focus has been given to the harmful effects of EDCs to the reproductive system. The estimation of human exposure to EDCs can be broadly categorized into occupational and environmental exposure, and has been a major challenge due to the structural diversity of the chemicals that are derived by many different sources at doses below the limit of detection used by conventional methodologies. Animal and in vitro studies have supported the conclusion that endocrine disrupting chemicals affect the hormone dependent pathways responsible for male and female gonadal development, either through direct interaction with hormone receptors or via epigenetic and cell-cycle regulatory modes of action. In human populations, the majority of the studies point towards an association between exposure to EDCs and male and/or female reproduction system disorders, such as infertility, endometriosis, breast cancer, testicular cancer, poor sperm quality and/or function. Despite promising discoveries, a causal relationship between the reproductive disorders and exposure to specific toxicants is yet to be established, due to the complexity of the clinical protocols used, the degree of occupational or environmental exposure, the determination of the variables measured and the sample size of the subjects examined. Future studies should focus on a uniform system of examining human populations with regard to the exposure to specific EDCs and the direct effect on the reproductive system.
内分泌干扰化学物质（EDCs）是一类化合物，由于其对人类健康可能产生有害影响，已受到广泛研究。在过去几十年中，人们特别关注EDCs对生殖系统的有害影响。对人类接触EDCs的估计大致可分为职业接触和环境接触，由于这些化学物质结构多样，来源众多，且剂量低于传统方法的检测限，因此这一直是一项重大挑战。动物和体外研究支持了这样的结论：内分泌干扰化学物质通过与激素受体直接相互作用或通过表观遗传和细胞周期调节作用模式，影响负责男性和女性性腺发育的激素依赖途径。在人群中，大多数研究表明接触EDCs与男性和/或女性生殖系统疾病之间存在关联，如不孕、子宫内膜异位症、乳腺癌、睾丸癌、精子质量和/或功能不佳。尽管有一些有前景的发现，但由于所用临床方案的复杂性、职业或环境接触程度、所测量变量的确定以及所检查受试者的样本量等因素，生殖系统疾病与接触特定毒物之间的因果关系尚未确立。未来的研究应集中在一个统一的系统上，该系统用于研究人群接触特定EDCs的情况及其对生殖系统的直接影响。
