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Review
. 2018 Jun 2;19(6):1647.
doi: 10.3390/ijms19061647.

Current Knowledge on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) from Animal Biology to Humans, from Pregnancy to Adulthood: Highlights from a National Italian Meeting

Maria Elisabeth Street  1 , Sabrina Angelini  2 , Sergio Bernasconi  3 , Ernesto Burgio  4 , Alessandra Cassio  5 , Cecilia Catellani  6 , Francesca Cirillo  7 , Annalisa Deodati  8 , Enrica Fabbrizi  9 , Vassilios Fanos  10 , Giancarlo Gargano  11 , Enzo Grossi  12 , Lorenzo Iughetti  13 , Pietro Lazzeroni  14 , Alberto Mantovani  15 , Lucia Migliore  16 , Paola Palanza  17 , Giancarlo Panzica  18   19 , Anna Maria Papini  20 , Stefano Parmigiani  21 , Barbara Predieri  22 , Chiara Sartori  23 , Gabriele Tridenti  24 , Sergio Amarri  25
Affiliations
Review

Current Knowledge on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) from Animal Biology to Humans, from Pregnancy to Adulthood: Highlights from a National Italian Meeting

Maria Elisabeth Street et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Wildlife has often presented and suggested the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Animal studies have given us an important opportunity to understand the mechanisms of action of many chemicals on the endocrine system and on neurodevelopment and behaviour, and to evaluate the effects of doses, time and duration of exposure. Although results are sometimes conflicting because of confounding factors, epidemiological studies in humans suggest effects of EDCs on prenatal growth, thyroid function, glucose metabolism and obesity, puberty, fertility, and on carcinogenesis mainly through epigenetic mechanisms. This manuscript reviews the reports of a multidisciplinary national meeting on this topic.

Keywords: Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs); autism; carcinogenesis; epigenetics; fertility; growth; neurodevelopment; obesity; puberty; thyroid function.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Action of EDCs on the HPT Axis. The black arrows indicate the endocrine axis, the red arrows indicate the organs/tissues targeted by the EDCs.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Importance of EDCs driven epigenetic effects during life course and potential consequences across generations according to the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) theory.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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