典型环境激素壬基酚对水产品安全性的影响

环境激素类物质由于其具有生态毒性、难降解与生物累积性,对水产品的危害越来越受到人们的重视。典型环境激素壬基酚(NP)是壬基酚聚氧乙烯醚（NPE）的降解产物,后者作为非离子表面活性剂,与人们的日常生活关系密切,但同时也对水产生物及人类健康产生了危害。该文综述了壬基酚的环境激素特征及污染途径,在水环境中的分布,对水产生物的生理生态影响以及其通过生物富集和传递效应对人类健康形成的潜在威胁,可作为中国水产品安全风险预警体系的参考资料,为壬基酚对人体健康的风险评估提供依据。     

环境激素浅说

１　环境激素的概念动物激素是动物的内分泌腺分泌的,通过体液运送到身体的特定作用部位,对生物的新陈代谢、生长发育等生命活动起重要调节作用的微量有机化合物。但据最近的观察和研究表明,许多种类的人工合成的化学物质,均能影响和扰乱生物体内固有的内分泌系统,导致内分泌障碍,我们称这类环境中的内分泌干扰物为环境激素。２　环境激素的种类根据“世界自然保护基金会”的调查,目前,人们已知晓的环境激素多达７２种,主要存在于二恶英类物质和人工合成的各种化学物质内,并散布于人类的生活环境中。二恶英是以两个氧原子桥结合两…     

环境激素对人类健康的危害及其作用机制

环境激素是环境中的激素类似物,它在人体和动物体内发挥着类似于激素的作用,通常称为＂外因性内分泌干扰物质＂,干扰体内正常激素的作用.该文介绍激素与环境激素的区别、环境激素的特性、种类;重点阐述环境激素的及其内分泌干扰机制;从环境激素对人类的健康,尤其是对生殖健康的危害,提出了防治环境激素污染的措施.     

食品中环境激素的检测方法研究进展

环境激素是一类能够扰乱生物体正常平衡激素水平的外源性物质,长期接触可能导致人体的生殖系统问题、心血管疾病、肝脏和心脏系统问题等。在生产过程中一旦生产原料的质量没有得到严格控制,就可能导致后续生产所得的日用品、食品、饮料、饮用水等中含有影响人体健康的环境激素。因此,针对食品中环境激素含量的快速灵敏检测方法亟待开发。本文中,笔者基于环境激素的结构特点和物化特性,综述了目前针对环境激素类小分子的检测方法的研究进展,对传统的色谱、质谱检测方法的原理和检测水平进行总结,并重点介绍了基于化学和生物传感器的新型传感检测方法的检测原理、研究现状及其在食品安全中的应用,以期为后续研究提供参考。     

浅谈环境激素

环境激素是指由于人类的生产和生活活动而释放到环境中的、对人体内和动物体内的正常激素功能施加影响,从而影响内分泌系统的化学物质;本文介绍了环境激素的种类、危害及防控方法。     

环境雌激素生态影响的研究进展

环境雌激素(ｅｃｏｅｓｔｒｏｇｅｎ) ,是指能够扰乱动物内分泌活动 ,生理活性与雌激素较为相似的动物体外化学物质 ,包括人工合成化合物以及植物天然雌激素 ,由于目前所发现的干扰动物及人体内分泌系统的有机化合物绝大多数都具有激素特征 ,因此通常又将环境激素称做“干扰内分泌化合物”(ｅｎｄｏｃｒｉｎｅｄｉｓｒｕｐｔｉｎｇｃｈｅｍｉ ｃａｌｓ或ｅｎｄｏｃｒｉｎｅｄｉｓｒｕｐｔｅｒｓ)。环境激素问题只是在最近几年才引起世界关注 ,但由于环境激素污染范围广、影响大 ,对人类生存的威胁更直接 ,目前 ,西方国家将环境激素问题与臭…     

环境激素对纹沼螺RXR基因表达的影响

维甲酸X受体(RXR)基因在调控软体动物内分泌行为过程中起着关键作用.为揭示环境激素对软体动物RXR基因表达的调控作用,在前期构建纹沼螺转录组基础上,利用RACE技术扩增获得纹沼螺RXR基因cDNA全序列,并采用实时荧光定量PCR(qRT-PCR)对环境激素暴露后纹沼螺RXR基因表达水平进行定量分析.研究结果显示,纹沼螺RXR基因与其他软体动物RXR具有较高的同源性,雌激素处理后RXR基因的表达先被抑制后被促进,雄激素处理后RXR基因的表达先被诱导后被抑制,并且不同暴露浓度组RXR基因表达差异不显著.研究结果表明,环境激素可能对纹沼螺有一定的毒理效应,为从分子水平上深入探究环境激素对软体动物危害机制提供了数据支持及理论基础.     

邻苯二甲酸二乙酯和壬基酚联合暴露对杜氏盐藻生长的影响

为了探讨环境激素类物质邻苯二甲酸二乙酯(DEP)和壬基酚(NP)对海洋微藻的联合毒性效应,选取杜氏盐藻(Dunaliella salina)为受试生物,以环境激素对杜氏盐藻单一暴露的96h EC₅₀的毒性效应作为一个毒性单位(IU),采用毒性单位法比较研究了DEP和NP单一暴露以及两者以三种不同混合比例(毒性单位比:1:1、1:4和4:1)暴露对杜氏盐藻的细胞生长、叶绿体色素含量、可溶性蛋白含量、SOD活性以及最大光能转化效率(Fv/Fm)的影响.实验结果表明:DEP和NP单一暴露对杜氏盐藻的96h EC₅₀分别为69.54 mg/L和1.47 mg/L,两种环境激素对杜氏盐藻均有抑制作用,且NP较DEP对杜氏盐藻的毒性更强.DEP和NP联合暴露较单一暴露对杜氏盐藻的细胞生长、叶绿体色素和可溶性蛋白的合成有较强的抑制作用,两种环境激素在毒性单位比为1:1、1:4、4:1三个比例水平上的联合毒性效应均表现为协同效应,其中比例为1:1的协同效应最强.     

环境激素对策重新启动化学物质的安全对策出现转村

日本环境省重启内分泌扰乱物质（环境激素）对策，今后讨论的议题不仅是内分泌扰乱作用，还有可能扩大到化学物质的各个方面的影响，对同化学物质打交道的企业也将产生影响。     

环境激素—危险的环境污染物

激素是由人或动物内分泌腺或散在的内分泌细胞所分泌的高效能生物活性物质 ,它与神经系统密切联系 ,共同调节机体的多种功能活动 ,维持人体内环境的相对稳定。近几年来人们发现在环境中存在一些化学物质 ,它们具有类似人体激素的功能 ,有时能引起机体内分泌紊乱 ,故将其称为“环境激素”。1　环境激素的来源和作用方式环境激素是社会生产工业化的产物。特别是近 70年来 ,随着大量的化学合成物的生产、使用 ,一些具有激素功能的化合物也随之排入周围环境产生污染 ,造成巨大的危害。目前全球已合成的化学物质有 10 0 0万种 ,每年还新合成 10万…     

Endocrine disrupting chemicals and disease susceptibility

Environmental chemicals have significant impacts on biological systems. Chemical exposures during early stages of development can disrupt normal patterns of development and thus dramatically alter disease susceptibility later in life. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) interfere with the body's endocrine system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and immune effects in humans. A wide range of substances, both natural and man-made, are thought to cause endocrine disruption, including pharmaceuticals, dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls, DDT and other pesticides, and components of plastics such as bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates. EDCs are found in many everyday products--including plastic bottles, metal food cans, detergents, flame retardants, food additives, toys, cosmetics, and pesticides. EDCs interfere with the synthesis, secretion, transport, activity, or elimination of natural hormones. This interference can block or mimic hormone action, causing a wide range of effects. This review focuses on the mechanisms and modes of action by which EDCs alter hormone signaling. It also includes brief overviews of select disease endpoints associated with endocrine disruption.     

Do hormone‐modulating chemicals impact on reproduction and development of wild amphibians?

Globally, amphibians are undergoing a precipitous decline. At the last estimate in 2004, 32% of the approximately 6000 species were threatened with extinction and 43% were experiencing significant declines. These declines have been linked with a wide range of environmental pressures from habitat loss to climate change, disease and pollution. This review evaluates the evidence that endocrine‐disrupting contaminants (EDCs) – pollutants that affect hormone systems – are impacting on wild amphibians and contributing to population declines. The review is limited to anurans (frogs and toads) as data for effects of EDCs on wild urodeles (salamanders, newts) or caecilians (limbless amphibians) are extremely limited. Evidence from laboratory studies has shown that a wide range of chemicals have the ability to alter hormone systems and affect reproductive development and function in anurans, but for the most part only at concentrations exceeding those normally found in natural environments. Exceptions can be found for exposures to the herbicide atrazine and polychlorinated biphenyls in leopard frogs (Rana pipiens) and perchlorate in African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis). These contaminants induce feminising effects on the male gonads (including ‘intersex’ – oocytes within testes) at concentrations measured in some aquatic environments. The most extensive data for effects of an EDC in wild amphibian populations are for feminising effects of atrazine on male gonad development in regions across the USA. Even where strong evidence has been provided for feminising effects of EDCs, however, the possible impact of these effects on fertility and breeding outcome has not been established, making inference for effects on populations difficult. Laboratory studies have shown that various chemicals, including perchlorate, polychlorinated biphenyls and bromodiphenylethers, also act as endocrine disrupters through interfering with thyroid‐dependent processes that are fundamental for amphibian metamorphosis. Perchlorate has also been shown to induce these effects in wild anuran populations from perchlorate‐contaminated environments. Overall, the published data available suggest that some health effects observed in wild anuran populations, most notably intersex, likely have a chemical aetiology; however they derive only from very few anuran species and for a few pesticides at field sites in the USA. To understand better the impacts of EDCs on wild anuran populations, as well as other amphibian groups, assessment of fertility in exposed animals are required. Development of non‐destructive biomarkers that are indicative of specific EDC‐effect mechanisms are also needed to allow the study of vulnerable populations. This will help to distinguish the effects of EDCs from other environmental and/or genetic influences on development and reproduction.     

Endocrine disruptors in marine organisms: approaches and perspectives

Organic pollutants exhibiting endocrine disrupting activity (Endocrine Disruptors--EDs) are prevalent over a wide range in the aquatic ecosystems; most EDs are resistant to environmental degradation and are considered ubiquitous contaminants. The actual potency of EDs is low compared to that of natural hormones, but environmental concentrations may still be sufficiently high to produce detrimental biological effects. Most information on the biological effects and mechanisms of action of EDs has been focused on vertebrates. Here we summarize recent progress in studies on selected aspects of endocrine disruption in marine organisms that are still poorly understood and that certainly deserve further research in the near future. This review, divided in four sections, focuses mainly on invertebrates (effects of EDs and mechanisms of action) and presents data on top predators (large pelagic fish and cetaceans), a group of vertebrates that are particularly at risk due to their position in the food chain. The first section deals with basic pathways of steroid biosynthesis and metabolism as a target for endocrine disruption in invertebrates. In the second section, data on the effects and alternative mechanisms of action of estrogenic compounds in mussel immunocytes are presented, addressing to the importance of investigating full range responses to estrogenic chemicals in ecologically relevant invertebrate species. In the third section we review the potential use of vitellogenin (Vtg)-like proteins as a biomarker of endocrine disruption in marine bivalve molluscs, used worldwide as sentinels in marine biomonitoring programmes. Finally, we summarize the results of a recent survey on ED accumulation and effects on marine fish and mammals, utilizing both classical biomarkers of endocrine disruption in vertebrates and non-lethal techniques, such as non-destructive biomarkers, indicating the toxicological risk for top predator species in the Mediterranean. Overall, the reviewed data underline the potential to identify specific types of responses to specific groups of chemicals such as EDs in order to develop suitable biomarkers that could be useful as diagnostic tools for endocrine disruption in marine invertebrates and vertebrates.     

Effects of environmental estrogenic chemicals on AP1 mediated transcription with estrogen receptors alpha and beta

There has been much discussion concerning endocrine disrupting chemicals suspected of exerting adverse effects in both wildlife and humans. Since the majority of these compounds are estrogenic, a large number of in vitro tests for estrogenic characteristics have been developed for screening purpose. One reliable and widely used method is the reporter gene assay employing estrogen receptors (ERs) and a reporter gene with a cis-acting estrogen responsive element (ERE). Other elements such as AP1 also mediate estrogenic signals and the manner of response could be quite different from that of ERE. Since this has yet to be explored, the ER mediated AP1 activity in response to a series of environmental estrogens was investigated in comparison with ERE findings. All the compounds exhibited estrogenic properties with ERE-luc and their AP1 responses were quite similar. These was one exception, however, p,p'-DDT (1,1,1,-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane) did not exert any AP1-luc activity, while it appeared to be estrogenic at 10(-7) to 10(-5)M with the ERE action. None of the compounds demonstrated ER beta:AP1 activity. These data suggest that significant differences can occur in responses through the two estrogen pathways depending on environmental chemicals.     

Components of plastic: experimental studies in animals and relevance for human health

Components used in plastics, such as phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) and tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), are detected in humans. In addition to their utility in plastics, an inadvertent characteristic of these chemicals is the ability to alter the endocrine system. Phthalates function as anti-androgens while the main action attributed to BPA is oestrogen-like activity. PBDE and TBBPA have been shown to disrupt thyroid hormone homeostasis while PBDEs also exhibit anti-androgen action. Experimental investigations in animals indicate a wide variety of effects associated with exposure to these compounds, causing concern regarding potential risk to human health. For example, the spectrum of effects following perinatal exposure of male rats to phthalates has remarkable similarities to the testicular dysgenesis syndrome in humans. Concentrations of BPA in the foetal mouse within the range of unconjugated BPA levels observed in human foetal blood have produced effects in animal experiments. Finally, thyroid hormones are essential for normal neurological development and reproductive function. Human body burdens of these chemicals are detected with high prevalence, and concentrations in young children, a group particularly sensitive to exogenous insults, are typically higher, indicating the need to decrease exposure to these compounds.     

In Vivo Screening Using Transgenic Zebrafish Embryos Reveals New Effects of HDAC Inhibitors Trichostatin A and Valproic Acid on Organogenesis

The effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on reproduction are well known, whereas their developmental effects are much less characterized. However, exposure to endocrine disruptors during organogenesis may lead to deleterious and permanent problems later in life. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) transgenic lines expressing the green fluorescent protein (GFP) in specific organs and tissues are powerful tools to uncover developmental defects elicited by EDCs. Here, we used seven transgenic lines to visualize in vivo whether a series of EDCs and other pharmaceutical compounds can alter organogenesis in zebrafish. We used transgenic lines expressing GFP in pancreas, liver, blood vessels, inner ear, nervous system, pharyngeal tooth and pectoral fins. This screen revealed that four of the tested chemicals have detectable effects on different organs, which shows that the range of effects elicited by EDCs is wider than anticipated. The endocrine disruptor tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBPA), as well as the three drugs diclofenac, trichostatin A (TSA) and valproic acid (VPA) induced abnormalities in the embryonic vascular system of zebrafish. Moreover, TSA and VPA induced specific alterations during the development of pancreas, an observation that was confirmed by in situ hybridization with specific markers. Developmental delays were also induced by TSA and VPA in the liver and in pharyngeal teeth, resulting in smaller organ size. Our results show that EDCs can induce a large range of developmental alterations during embryogenesis of zebrafish and establish GFP transgenic lines as powerful tools to screen for EDCs effects in vivo.     

Structural and functional evidences for the interactions between nuclear hormone receptors and endocrine disruptors at low doses

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) represent a broad class of exogenous substances that cause adverse effects in the endocrine system mainly by interacting with nuclear hormone receptors (NRs). Humans are generally exposed to low doses of pollutants, and current researches aim at deciphering the mechanisms accounting for the health impact of EDCs at environmental concentrations. Our correlative analysis of structural, interaction and cell-based data has revealed a variety of, sometimes unexpected, binding modes, reflecting a wide range of EDC affinities and specificities. Here, we present a few representative examples to illustrate various means by which EDCs achieve high-affinity binding to NRs. These examples include the binding of the mycoestrogen α-zearalanol to estrogen receptors, the covalent interaction of organotins with the retinoid X- and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors, and the cooperative binding of two chemicals to the pregnane X receptor. We also discuss some hypotheses that could further explain low-concentration effects of EDCs with weaker affinity towards NRs.     

Development of comparative methods using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and capillary electrophoresis for determination of endocrine disrupting chemicals in bio-solids

Two analytical separation techniques are being investigated for their potential in determining a wide range of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in the environment. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) in the micellar mode in conjunction with a cyclodextrin (CD) modifier is shown to have potential for determination of alkylphenol breakdown products. Gas chromatography with mass spectrometric (GC-MS) detection is being utilised for validation of the CE method development and in addition as a separation technique to optimise preconcentration using solid-phase extraction. GC has demonstrated potential for the separation of 26 priority chemicals suspected as being endocrine disrupting compounds. The challenge of the method development process lies in the fact that these compounds are of differing polarities, size and charge and therefore are difficult to separate in a single run. Capillary electrophoresis in the CD-MEKC (micellar electrokinetic chromatography) mode is showing potential in this regard. Limits of determination are in the low mg/l range for CE and GC, however, using preconcentration it is possible to improve detection sensitivity with >80% recovery for some analytes and up to 100% recovery for most target species.