scholarly journals Endocrine disrupting chemicals and their detection in an IVF laboratory

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 165-169
Author(s):  
Michal Ješeta ◽  
Kateřina Franzová ◽  
Lenka Mekiňová ◽  
Elena Kistanova ◽  
Peter Harbulák ◽  
...  

Abstract The endocrine disruptors are chemicals with the capacity to influence physiological processes in the organism, most often through hormonal control. They are present in the environment and in the products of daily use. They are often found in food, released from plastic bottles for water, present in cosmetics or fertilizers. Latest research suggests that they can be released from plastics used in the IVF laboratories and can be even present in the manipulation and cultivation media used for isolation and fertilization of gametes and subsequent cultivation of embryos. Permanent and long-term utilization of these substances has adverse effects in human reproductive health, mainly by the means of interfering with synthesis and action mechanisms of reproductive hormones. Moreover, some endocrine disruptors show a range of adverse effects directly on the gametes or embryos cultured in the in vitro conditions. The article provides an overview on bisphenols detected in plastics and media commonly used in the IVF laboratory and considers their possible impact on effectiveness of the IVF methods in a human laboratory.

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 199
Author(s):  
J.-H. Lee ◽  
E.-B. Jeung

The placenta exchanges vital factors, including oxygen, carbon dioxide, copper, iron, calcium cations, and glucose, which are essential to fetal growth. Each molecule is transferred by specific receptors that are located at the cell membrane or in the cytoplasm. Copper, iron, calcium cations, and glucose transfer genes are regulated by estrogens, vitamin D, and human placental lactogen. Regulations of these receptors depend on pregnancy time length and maternal and fetal nutrient environment with various pathways. Some synthetic plastics known as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) have a similar structure to reproductive hormones such as estrogens. Thus, these substances have a potential effect on the expression of genes which are regulated by estrogens or progesterone by interfering their pathways. Having an estrogenic property, EDC interact with oestrogen receptors and elevate or decrease the expression of target genes which are responsible for transporting essential molecules such as copper, iron, and calcium. To examine the effects of EDC exposure during pregnancy, we conducted an in vitro model study using the BeWo human trophoblast cell line. The BeWo cell was treated with well-known EDC, octyl-phenol (OP), nonyl-phenol (NP), and bisphenol A (BPA) in a dose-dependent manner (10–7, 10–6, and 10–5 M) for 24 h. The expression of copper (CTR1, ATP7A), iron (IREG1, HEPH), and calcium transporting genes (PMCA1, TRPV6), were measured by real-time RT–PCR and Western blot. The expression of copper, iron, and calcium transporting genes were elevated in a dose-dependent manner by all well-known EDC, including OP, NP, and BPA, as well as E2. To unveil the mechanism of these elevations of ionic transporting genes, an ERE promoter study will be needed. Taken together, essential cation transporting genes in placenta are modulated by EDC.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 309-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chinonye Doris Onuzulu ◽  
Oluwakemi Anuoluwapo Rotimi ◽  
Solomon Oladapo Rotimi

Abstract Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are xenobiotics which adversely modify the hormone system. The endocrine system is most vulnerable to assaults by endocrine disruptors during the prenatal and early development window, and effects may persist into adulthood and across generations. The prenatal stage is a period of vulnerability to environmental chemicals because the epigenome is usually reprogrammed during this period. Bisphenol A (BPA), lead (Pb), and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) were chosen for critical review because they have become serious public health concerns globally, especially in Africa where they are widely used without any regulation. In this review, we introduce EDCs and describe the various modes of action of EDCs and the importance of the prenatal and developmental windows to EDC exposure. We give a brief overview of epigenetics and describe the various epigenetic mechanisms: DNA methylation, histone modifications and non-coding RNAs, and how each of them affects gene expression. We then summarize findings from previous studies on the effects of prenatal exposure to the endocrine disruptors BPA, Pb and DDT on each of the previously described epigenetic mechanisms. We also discuss how the epigenetic alterations caused by these EDCs may be related to disease processes.


2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 1025-1033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evi M.L. Petro ◽  
Jo L.M.R. Leroy ◽  
Adrian Covaci ◽  
Erik Fransen ◽  
Diane De Neubourg ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine Maria Frade Costa ◽  
Poli Mara Spritzer ◽  
Alexandre Hohl ◽  
Tânia A. S. S. Bachega

Environmental agencies have identified a growing number of environmental contaminants that have endocrine disrupting activity, and these can become a major public health problem. It is suggested that endocrine disruptors could account for the higher-than-expected increase in the prevalence of some non-communicable diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, thyroid diseases, and some cancers. Several endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs), such as pesticides, bisphenol A, phthalates, dioxins, and phytoestrogens, can interact with the female reproductive system and lead to endocrine disruption. Initially, it was assumed that EDCs exert their effects by binding to hormone receptors and transcription factors, but it is currently known that they may also alter the expression of enzymes involved in the synthesis or catabolism of steroids. Biomonitoring studies have identified these compounds in adults, children, pregnant women, and fetuses. Among the diseases of the female reproductive tract associated with EDCs exposure are the following: precocious puberty, polycystic ovary syndrome, and premature ovarian failure. The different populations of the world are exposed to a great number of chemicals through different routes of infection; despite the various available studies, there is still much doubt regarding the additive effect of a mixture of EDCs with similar mechanisms of action.


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