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Review
. 2022 Oct 7;23(19):11899.
doi: 10.3390/ijms231911899.

Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals' Effects in Children: What We Know and What We Need to Learn?

Barbara Predieri  1 , Lorenzo Iughetti  1 , Sergio Bernasconi  2 , Maria Elisabeth Street  3
Affiliations
Review

Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals' Effects in Children: What We Know and What We Need to Learn?

Barbara Predieri et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Thousands of natural or manufactured chemicals were defined as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) because they can interfere with hormone activity and the endocrine system. We summarize and discuss what we know and what we still need to learn about EDCs' pathogenic mechanisms of action, as well as the effects of the most common EDCs on endocrine system health in childhood. The MEDLINE database (PubMed) was searched on 13 May 2022, filtering for EDCs, endocrine diseases, and children. EDCs are a group of compounds with high heterogeneity, but usually disrupt the endocrine system by mimicking or interfering with natural hormones or interfering with the body's hormonal balance through other mechanisms. Individual EDCs were studied in detail, while humans' "cocktail effect" is still unclear. In utero, early postnatal life, and/or pubertal development are highly susceptible periods to exposure. Human epidemiological studies suggest that EDCs affect prenatal growth, thyroid function, glucose metabolism, obesity, puberty, and fertility through several mechanisms. Further studies are needed to clarify which EDCs can mainly act on epigenetic processes. A better understanding of EDCs' effects on human health is crucial to developing future regulatory strategies to prevent exposure and ensure the health of children today, in future generations, and in the environment.

Keywords: children; endocrine disruptors; exposure; hormone receptor; human health; pregnant women.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
In utero, early postnatal life, and/or pubertal development are periods highly susceptible to EDCs’ exposure, leading to human health effects and susceptibility to a wide range of diseases and disorders through several mechanisms of action.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mechanism of action of EDCs. (1) EDCs can directly bind to NHRs acting as (A) agonists inducing the gene expression or as (B) antagonists inhibiting the receptor activity; (2) EDCs can affect NHRs function by induction of (A) receptor degradation through proteasome activation, (B) competition for coAct recruitment, and (C) DNA-binding competition; (3) EDCs can dysregulate hormone metabolism, mainly inducing degradation of steroid hormones. Abbreviations: AhR, aryl hydrocarbon receptor; ARNT, aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator; coAct, co-activators; coRe, co-repressors; CYP, cytochrome P450; EDCs, endocrine-disrupting chemicals; iXRE, inhibitory XRE; NHRs, nuclear hormone receptors; NREs, NHR response elements; Ub, ubiquitin; XRE, xenobiotic responsive element.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Literature search and studies’ selection: PRISMA flow diagram [285].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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