Effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals in host health: Three-way interactions between environmental exposure, host phenotypic responses, and gut microbiota.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have gradually become a global health hazard in recent decades. Gut microbiota (GM) provides a crucial interface between the environment and the human body. A triad relationship may exist between EDCs exposure, host phenotypic background, and GM effects. In this review, we attempted to parse out the contribution of GM on the alteration of host phenotypic responses induced by EDCs, suggesting that GM intervention may be used as a therapeutic strategy to limit the expansion of pathogen. These studies can increase the understanding of pathogenic mechanisms, and help to identify the modifiable environmental factors and microbiota characteristics in people with underlying disease susceptibility for prevention and remediation.