Chlorpropham, a carbamate ester herbicide, has an endocrine-disrupting potential by inhibiting the homodimerization of human androgen receptor.

This study was carried out to provide the evidence with respect to the adverse potential of chlorpropham, a representative carbamate ester herbicide product, on the endocrine system by using in vitro testing methods in accordance with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Test Guideline No. 458 (22Rv1/MMTV_GR-KO human androgen receptor [AR] transcriptional activation assay) and a bioluminescence resonance energy transfer-based AR homodimerization assay. Results revealed that chlorpropham had no AR agonistic effects, but it was determined to be a true AR antagonist without intrinsic toxicity against the applied cell lines. In the mechanism of chlorpropham-induced AR-mediated adverse effects, chlorpropham suppressed cytoplasmic AR translocation to the nucleus by inhibiting the homodimerization of the activated ARs. This suggests that chlorpropham exposure caused endocrine-disrupting effects through its interactions with human AR. Additionally, this study might help identify the genomic pathway of the AR-mediated endocrine-disrupting potential of N-phenyl carbamate herbicides.