endocrine disruptors Concepts

Epigenetics: How Environment Shapes Our Genes

by Richard C. Francis · 14 May 2012

of environmental toxins on epigenetic processes in general, and recently, genomic imprinting in particular. Here I will focus on one group of toxins called endocrine disruptors. As the name implies, endocrine disruptors disrupt physiological processes that involve hormones, typically because they mimic the hormones and bind to their receptors. Some of the most pernicious

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endocrine disruptors mimic the female hormone estrogen. These include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and bisphenol A, which is used in the production of plastics (such as the ubiquitous

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water bottles). Other estrogen-like endocrine disruptors include agricultural weed killers such as atrazine, and fungicides such as vinclozolin. The effects of endocrine disruptors were first noticed in fish and amphibians, and are a major cause of the declines in some local

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concentrated, and because their sexual development is influenced more by their environment than is the sexual development of humans and other mammals.24 For example, endocrine disruptors can cause fish to change sex, resulting in all-female populations.25 They can also have a dramatically feminizing effect on amphibians resulting in male

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sterility.26 While less dramatic than in fish and amphibians, endocrine disruptors have been linked to a variety of ailments in humans and other mammals. The effects of endocrine disruptors on imprinted genes in mammals are especially well studied.27 Male mammals, including human males, seem particularly

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sensitive to developmental errors caused by the effect of endocrine disruptors on imprinted genes, as evidenced by increased rates of prostate cancer, kidney disease, and abnormal testes.28 In many cases, these problems don’t become

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been replicated in humans, nor will that ever happen—what prospective mother is going to volunteer for vinclozolin exposure? But they provide compelling evidence that endocrine disruptors are not just a problem for fish and frogs. The Hybrid Problem We began this chapter with the mule-hinny puzzle, to which we now

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with ovarian features—are also common (Jobling, Williams, et al. 2006). 26. Milnes, Bermudez, et al. (2006). 27. Crews (2010) provides an excellent overview of endocrine disruptors and imprinted genes. See also Prins (2008) and Skinner, Manikkam, et al. (2010). 28. Virtanen, Rajpert-De Meyts, et al. (2005); Diamanti-Kandarakis, Bourguignon, et

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their association with assisted reproduction technologies.” Hum Reprod 23(12): 2826–2834. Anway, M. D., A. S. Cupp, et al. (2005). “Epigenetic transgenerational actions of endocrine disruptors and male fertility.” Science 308(5727): 1466–1469. Anway, M. D., and M. K. Skinner (2008). “Epigenetic programming of the germ line: Effects of

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endocrine disruptors on the development of transgenerational disease.” Reprod Biomed Online 16(1): 23–25. Araki, R., Y. Jincho, et al. (2010). “Conversion of ancestral fibroblasts to

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obesity epidemic: Natural selection of thrifty genes or genetic drift following predation release?” Int J Obes (Lond) 32(11): 1607–1610. Prins, G. S. (2008). “Endocrine disruptors and prostate cancer risk.” Endocr Relat Cancer 15(3): 649–656. Provine, W. B. (1986). Sewall Wright and evolutionary biology. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Ptak

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mutation theory of cancer: Growing problems with the paradigm?” BioEssays 26(10): 1097–1107. Soto, A. M., and C. Sonnenschein (2010). “Environmental causes of cancer: Endocrine disruptors as carcinogens.” Nat Rev Endocrinol 6(7): 363–370. Speakman, J. R. (2006). “Thrifty genes for obesity and the metabolic syndrome—time to call off

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imprinting, genomic mutation of pleiotropic wild-type see also agouti locus allografting alternative splicing Alzheimer’s disease amino acids amphibians: cellular dedifferentiation in effects of endocrine disruptors in regeneration in anabolic steroids androgen receptors androgens aneuploidy Angelman syndrome (AS) anthropomorphism antisocial personality disorder maternal style and anxiety disorders: maternal style and stress

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elegans cancer agouti alleles and aneuploid theory of cellular dedifferentiation and cellular stability of dedifferentiation theory of demethylation in in dogs embryonic stem cells and endocrine disruptors and epigenetic alterations in epigenetic inheritance and gene regulation and immune system and metastasis of microenvironmental view of mutation and normalization and somatic mutation theory

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, epigenetic attachments removed in production of egg fertilization embryonic cancers embryonic skin cells embryonic stem cells cancer and cellular interactions and controversy surrounding as pluripotent endocrine disruptors transgenerational effects of entelechy environment: epigenetic change as response to and epigenetic inheritance fetal, see fetal environment gene regulation effects of, as cell type-specific

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postnatal environment and nutrient availability in obesity and stress and true epigenetic inheritance and fetal programming fibroblast cells fight-or-flight response fish, effects of endocrine disruptors in folic acid autism and fruit flies fungicides FWA allele fwa mutation gene expression biparental vs. uniparental birth weight correlated with glucocorticoids and as inhibited

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, Carl lipids liver: gene expression in GR expression in melanin production in locus, loci, of genes lung disease lupus Lyon, Mary male mammals, effects of endocrine disruptors in mammals, regeneration in Marathon, Battle of marsupials: X inactivation in see also Tasmanian devils maternal environment, see fetal environment maternal style transgenerational transmission of

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tactile stimulation Tanganyika, Lake Tasmanian devils cancer in, see devil facial tumor disease (DFTD) healing capacity of immune response in Tatum, Edward teratocarcinoma cells testes endocrine disruptors and steroid abuse and shrinkage of testosterone competitive interactions and Thailand, diet and obesity in “thrifty genes” hypothesis thrifty phenotype thymine tigons tissue-based theory

The End of Doom: Environmental Renewal in the Twenty-First Century

by Ronald Bailey · 20 Jul 2015 · 417pp · 109,367 words

upshot is that “allegations for a worldwide decline in semen parameter values have not withstood scientific scrutiny.” What about the epidemic of deformed penises that endocrine disruptors are supposedly engendering? One of the more common birth defects in males is hypospadias, in which the urethral opening occurs elsewhere along the penis rather

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evidence linking endocrine disrupting chemicals to increasing obesity rates, but that does not stop researchers from trying to do so. A typical study, “Association of Endocrine Disruptors and Obesity: Perspectives from Epidemiologic Studies,” published in 2010, found a correlation between excess weight and endocrine disrupting chemicals. However, that study begins by acknowledging

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of type 2 diabetes. A 2012 workshop organized by the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences reviewed seventy-five studies relating exposures to synthetic endocrine disruptors to type 2 diabetes and concluded, “In no case was the body of data considered sufficient to establish causality.” It’s hard not to conclude

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report also asserts that there is a “trend towards earlier onset of breast development in young girls.” Again, some epidemiologists have sought to identify synthetic endocrine disruptors as the possible villains behind this trend. However, considerable research persuasively suggests that earlier breast development and puberty onset in girls is linked to increases

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of more than 4,000 different articles. “Taking into account the large resources spent on this topic, one should expect that, in the meantime, some endocrine disruptors that cause actual human injury or disease should have been identified,” the researchers argue. “However, this is not the case. To date, with the exception

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(November 26, 2012): 144. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3505837/#!po=4.54545. “changes in diet”: Elizabeth E. Hatch et al., “Association of Endocrine Disruptors and Obesity: Perspectives from Epidemiologic Studies.” International Journal of Andrology 33.2 (January 22, 2010): 1365–2605. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3005328

The Ripple Effect: The Fate of Fresh Water in the Twenty-First Century

by Alex Prud'Homme · 6 Jun 2011 · 692pp · 167,950 words

(which survive processing at treatment plants), into waterways, where they can disrupt the endocrine system of fish, leaving them vulnerable to disease and death. Such “endocrine disruptors” are also found in children’s toys, cosmetics, furniture, and the weed killers many people spray on their lawns. Atrazine, for instance, the nation’s

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to PCBs, industrial chemicals, and pesticides. Although the evidence is not conclusive, doctors are particularly concerned about the role of endocrine disruptors, which may fool the body into undergoing hormonal changes early. Endocrine disruptors are found in many everyday items, including cleaning products, pesticides, flooring, air fresheners, and plastics (especially plastic containers numbered 3

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when they are still in their eggs in river sediments or are very young and still undergoing sexual differentiation. If human babies are exposed to endocrine disruptors when they are at a similar stage of development—in utero, or when they are very young—then they, too, could theoretically suffer immunosuppression or

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fluids is proprietary and refuse to divulge their contents. According experts such as Dr. Theo Colborn, an environmental health analyst known for her work on endocrine disruptors, at least half of the chemicals in fracking fluids are toxic, such as benzene, toluene, boric acid, formaldehyde, and xylene. But many other chemicals used

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of ingredients washed from homes survive wastewater treatment. These chemicals impact the ecosystem, including humans. Even seemingly benign products, such as perfume or soap, contain endocrine disruptors that are suspected of causing fish intersex and death and may impact human health in ways that are not yet understood. Antibacterial soaps are increasingly

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/2009/05/18/estrogen-threatens-minnow-manhood/. 77 Dr. Philip Landrigan: Nicholas D. Kristof, “Do Toxins Cause Autism?” New York Times, February 24, 2010. 77 Endocrine disruptors are found: National Institutes of Health: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/endocrine/index.cfm. US Environmental Protection Agency: “What are

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endocrine disruptors?”: http://www.epa.gov/endo/pubs/edspoverview/whatare.htm. 77 Anne Fausto-Sterling: Ariel Levy, “Either/Or,” New Yorker, November 30, 2009. 78 Bob Hirsch:

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the Archdruid (McPhee), 184 endangered species, 172, 183, 192, 245, 249, 318 Endangered Species Act, California, 246 Endangered Species Act (1973), 184, 289, 349–50 endocrine disruptors, 5, 76, 77, 78, 287, 351 energy, renewable, 263, 278–79, 340, 348 Energy Department, US, 42, 280 energy infrastructure, 5 energy use, by water

Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash

by Elizabeth Royte · 1 Jan 2005 · 308pp · 98,729 words

categories. “Consumables” are things we eat or use that would eventually biodegrade, including shampoo bottles made of beets and fabrics free of toxins, mutagens, and endocrine disruptors. “Durables,” like TVs and cars, would be returned to their manufacturers as technical nutrients and used as food in their manufacturing systems. “Unmarketables,” like nuclear

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nation’s waterways. Within the last decade or so, endocrinologists have correlated deformities and behavioral changes in fish, amphibians, and birds to high levels of endocrine disruptors that flow, with urine, into and then out of wastewater treatment plants. Leaving the rectangular tanks, Heckler and I ducked into a windowless building filled

Rust: The Longest War

by Jonathan Waldman · 10 Mar 2015 · 347pp · 112,727 words

that fit into particular receptors on cells, unleashing a chain of biochemical events. Hormonal changes in infinitesimal quantities cause dramatic changes, including diabetes and hermaphrodites. Endocrine disruptors, including molecules that mimic the hormone estrogen—called estrogenic chemicals, or xenoestrogens—get jammed in the cells so that the real molecules can’t get

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reserves greater criticism, calling them “locked into procedures decades out of date,” unable to acknowledge, let alone perform, modern science. He’s published studies on endocrine disruptors in two dozen journals, including Nature, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). He called

Let them eat junk: how capitalism creates hunger and obesity

by Robert Albritton · 31 Mar 2009 · 273pp · 93,419 words

birth control pills per day.183 When we consider the combination of oestrogen in soy, pharmaceuticals that get into the water supply, and all the endocrine disruptors in pesticides and plastics, we need much more research into their long-term impact on human health and the environment. 110 L E T T

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extinct. Among UK men, sperm counts fell by one-third between 1989 and 2002, and one in six couples now have difficulty conceiving.184 While endocrine disruptors in pesticides and plastics or oestrogens in pharmaceuticals probably have far more impact on reproduction than soy oestrogen, there is still inadequate research on the

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funding from corporations and corporate donors”.47 In their reports that have claimed among other things “that cholesterol is not related to coronary heart disease … endocrine disruptors are not a human health problem … and implementation of fossil-fuel restrictions to control global warming should not be implemented”.48 There are too many

The Diet Myth: The Real Science Behind What We Eat

by Tim Spector · 13 May 2015 · 382pp · 115,172 words

appears different from its effect in Asians. Soybeans contain unique antioxidant chemicals called isoflavones which are converted in the gut into active compounds known as endocrine disruptors (such as genistein); these mess up your hormone pathways and can modify your genes. This group of chemicals is thought to act like a type

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cure is rapidly becoming the problem: allergies to soy are also increasing, and soy alternatives are now available. The other components of soy such as endocrine disruptors like genistein, mentioned earlier, are regularly contained in infant feeds in amounts large enough to be a potential worry. Concern here is because the first

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lives in our colons and can occasionally become pathogenic after infections or antibiotics. endocrine: a term for anything producing hormones (e.g. thyroid or pancreas). endocrine disruptors: chemicals that act epigenetically to alter hormones, e.g. the bisphenol (BPA) in plastic bottles. epidemiology: the study of large groups or populations in order

The God Species: Saving the Planet in the Age of Humans

by Mark Lynas · 3 Oct 2011 · 369pp · 98,776 words

. H. Fisch, 2008: “Declining Worldwide Sperm Counts: Disproving a Myth,” Urologic Clinics of North America, 35, 137–47. 17. M.-H. Wang et al., 2008: “Endocrine Disruptors, Genital Development, and Hypospadias,” Journal of Andrology, 29, 499–505. 18. H. Fisch et al., 2010: “Rising Hypospadias Rates: Disproving a Myth,” Journal of Pediatric

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and Breast Cancer on Long Island. II. Organochlorine Compound Levels in Blood,” Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, 11, 8, 686–97. 21. S. Safe, 2004: “Endocrine Disruptors and Human Health: Is There a Problem,” Toxicology, 205, 1–2, 3–10. 22. A. Blaustein and P. Johnson, 2003: “The Complexity of Deformed Amphibians

Countdown: Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth?

by Alan Weisman · 23 Sep 2013 · 579pp · 164,339 words

a donor—warns that Israel’s transformation of deserts into gardens may have depended too heavily on pesticides. The damaged semen may be due to endocrine disruptors found not just in agro-chemistry, but in pharmaceuticals, household cleaners, detergents, plastics, and even cosmetics and sunscreens. Mounting evidence links them to rising rates

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. Aldad, Hugh S. Taylor. “In Utero Exposure to Diethylstilbestrol (DES) or Bisphenol-A (BPA) Increases EZH2 Expression in the Mammary Gland: An Epigenetic Mechanism Linking Endocrine Disruptors to Breast Cancer.” Hormones and Cancer, June 2010, 1(3):146-55 Draper Jr., William H. “Oral History Interview with General William H. Draper Jr

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Sustainable?” Presented to the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, October 22, 2007. Science in Parliament, vol. 65, no. 1 (Spring 2008): 18–19. Prins, Gail S. “Endocrine disruptors and prostate cancer risk.” Endocrine-Related Cancer, vol. 15 (2008) 649–56. Rettner, Rachael. “Steak Made from Human Excrement: Is It Safe?” MyHealthNewsDaily.com, June

Invisible Women

by Caroline Criado Perez · 12 Mar 2019 · 480pp · 119,407 words

, Issued November 18, 2014’; Brophy, James T., Keith, Margaret M. et al. (2012), ‘Breast cancer risk in relation to occupations with exposure to carcinogens and endocrine disruptors: a Canadian case-control study’, Environmental Health, 11:87 18 Rochon Ford (2014) 19 http://www.passblue.com/2017/07/05/females-exposed-to-nuclear