Guillette L J, Guillette E A
Department of Zoology, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611, USA.
Toxicol Ind Health. 1996 May-Aug;12(3-4):537-50. doi: 10.1177/074823379601200325.
At the onset of the industrial age, environmental contaminants began to pose a major threat to the health of wildlife. That threat appears to continue today. In the last three decades, the focus of our concern on the health consequences of environmental pollution has been on lethal, carcinogenic, and/or extreme teratogenic manifestations. Evidence from a number of sources suggests that another mechanism, endocrine-disruption, also must be examined. There is excellent laboratory and field evidence that man-made chemicals (xenochemicals) released into the environment act as hormones or antihormones. They act as endocrine-disrupting contaminants (EDCs). The release of EDCs occurred in the past and continues today. The development of the reproductive system is vulnerable to perturbation by EDCs. Wildlife studies demonstrate that both sexes are affected and experience modifications of gonadal and reproductive tract development or functioning and abnormal synthesis or metabolism of hormones. A number of abnormalities seen in the reproductive system of various wildlife species correlate with similar abnormalities described as rising in human populations. We suggest that wildlife are excellent sentinels of ecosystem health. Data from these wildlife studies present models and methodologies for examining human health.
在工业时代伊始，环境污染物就开始对野生动物的健康构成重大威胁。这种威胁如今似乎仍在持续。在过去三十年里，我们对环境污染对健康影响的关注焦点一直是致死、致癌和/或极端致畸表现。来自多个来源的证据表明，另一种机制——内分泌干扰，也必须加以研究。有充分的实验室和实地证据表明，释放到环境中的人造化学物质（异种化学物质）会起到激素或抗激素的作用。它们充当内分泌干扰污染物（EDCs）。EDCs的释放过去就已发生，如今仍在继续。生殖系统的发育很容易受到EDCs的干扰。对野生动物的研究表明，两性都会受到影响，性腺和生殖道的发育或功能会发生改变，激素的合成或代谢也会异常。在各种野生动物物种的生殖系统中看到的一些异常现象与在人类群体中出现的类似异常现象相关。我们认为野生动物是生态系统健康的优秀哨兵。这些野生动物研究的数据提供了用于研究人类健康的模型和方法。
