Dioxin-like PCBs and endometriosis

Abstract

A recent survey in the United States identified 287 different chemicals in human cord blood, demonstrating the significant exposure of women and their children to a wide array of environmental toxicants. While reducing contamination and exposure should be an international priority, it is equally appropriate to develop an understanding of the health consequences of increasing world-wide industrialization. Endometriosis, a disease of the female reproductive tract, has emerged as a disease potentially related to environmental exposures. While a number of population-based studies have suggested that a woman's exposure to dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls may affect her risk of developing this disease, other studies have failed to find such evidence. In the current manuscript, we will review the limited data regarding polychlorinated biphenyl congeners and endometriosis with a focus on dioxin-like toxicants. We will also discuss the potential importance of early life exposures to these toxicants on the subsequent development of endometriosis.

Figure 1

Chemical structure of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) as well as the chemical structures for 3,3’,4,4’ tetrachlorobiphenyl and 2,2’,4,4’ tetrachlorobiphenyl, examples coplanar and noncoplanar PCBs.