New piece on EDCs in Current Biology

Bertram, M.G., Gore, A.C., Tyler, C.R., Brodin, T., 2022. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Curr. Biol. 32, R727–R730. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.05.063 | PDF

What are endocrine-disrupting chemicals?

The World Health Organisation defines an endocrine-disrupting chemical as “an exogenous substance or mixture that alters function(s) of the endocrine system and consequently causes adverse health effects in an intact organism, or its progeny, or (sub)populations” (https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/67357). In this definition, ‘adverse health effects’ describes any alteration to an organism’s morphology, physiology, and/or behaviour that impairs its ability to grow, develop, and/or reproduce. Of the approximately 140,000 chemicals registered under the European Union’s ‘Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals’ regulation, more than 1,000 are known, or suspected, to have endocrine-disrupting properties. However, most chemicals have not been tested for endocrine activity, meaning that there are likely many more endocrine-disrupting chemicals than are currently recognised. Nevertheless, the diversity of chemicals now known to disrupt the endocrine system is staggering (Figure 1). Particularly well-known endocrine-disrupting chemicals include dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and other organochlorine pesticides, antifouling agents such as tributyltin, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which were used in the manufacture of electrical equipment but subsequently banned from use in many countries (since the 1970s). Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), which are found in a variety of industrial products including fire-fighting foam, also have endocrine-disrupting properties, as do polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which are used as flame retardants in furnishings and electronics, alkylphenolic compounds (for example, nonylphenols) used in the manufacture of surfactants, and plasticisers like bisphenols and phthalates, which are used to make plastics more pliable. In addition, various pharmaceuticals are extremely potent endocrine-disrupting chemicals, such as the synthetic androgen trenbolone, a growth-promoting steroid that is commonly administered to beef cattle.