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These compounds can cause endocrine disruption by multiple mechanisms including acting directly on hormone receptors, affecting the levels of natural hormones in the body, and by altering the expression of hormone receptors. [1] [2] The most commonly occurring xenohormones are xenoestrogens, which mimic the effects of estrogen.
Xenoestrogens are a type of xenohormone that imitates estrogen.They can be either synthetic or natural chemical compounds.Synthetic xenoestrogens include some widely used industrial compounds, such as PCBs, BPA, and phthalates, which have estrogenic effects on a living organism even though they differ chemically from the estrogenic substances produced internally by the endocrine system of any ...
Bisphenol A is an endocrine disruptor that can mimic estrogen and has been shown to cause negative health effects in animal studies. Bisphenol A closely mimics the structure and function of the hormone estradiol by binding to and activating the same estrogen receptor as the natural hormone.
Mycoestrogens mimic natural estrogen in the body by acting as estrogen receptor (ER) ligands. [8] Mycoestrogens have been identified as endocrine disruptors due to their high binding affinity for ERα and ERβ, exceeding that of well known antagonists such as bisphenol A and DDT. [10]
A comparison of the structures of the natural estrogen hormone estradiol (left) and one of the nonyl-phenols (right), a xenoestrogen endocrine disruptor. Endocrine disruptors, sometimes also referred to as hormonally active agents, [1] endocrine disrupting chemicals, [2] or endocrine disrupting compounds [3] are chemicals that can interfere with endocrine (or hormonal) systems. [4]
The usual causes are genetic, often related to autoimmune disorders, where the body attacks and kill its own tissue ("immune mediated destruction"). [8] Other cases are caused by various disease processes, [8] [9] [10] including failure of the pituitary gland to secrete ACTH, the hormone which stimulates the adrenal production of cortisol. [5]
Consumer products such as toys and cosmetics may contain phthalates or parabens, which disrupt androgen synthesis. [1] [2] Phthalates are mainly found as softeners in plastics, but also perfumes, nail varnish and other cosmetics. Fetuses that are exposed to a mixture of phthalates in utero may show signs of disrupted reproductive development.
The similarities, at molecular level, of an estrogen and a phytoestrogen allow them to mildly mimic and sometimes act as an antagonist of estrogen. [2] Phytoestrogens were first observed in 1926, [ 2 ] [ 5 ] but it was unknown if they could have any effect in human or animal metabolism.