Environmental estrogens shape disease susceptibility

Differences in endocrine and reproductive responses to substance exposure across generations: highlighting the importance of complementary findings

This article analyzes the results from 112 Extended One-Generation Reproductive Toxicity studies. The objective was to determine if test animals show consistent endocrine and reproductive effects within the same and across different generations and life stages. The analysis, grounded in a comprehensive Binary Matrix, included 530 observed effects and 193 unique, statistically significant associations. Associations' strength was quantified using Jaccard (J) coefficients to measure effect co-occurrence in the same study. Associated effects co-occur infrequently across the whole dataset (median J = 0.231). However, specific patterns emerged: associations of same effects across generations exhibited a higher strength (median J = 0.400) compared to associations of different effects (median J = 0.222). Notably, associations with effects observed in both the parental animals of the adult first filial generation (P1) and developing second filial generations (dF2) demonstrated J coefficients (with medians ranging from 0.300 to 0.430) that were approximately twofold higher than those of other associations. Consistently, equivalent life stage associations across generations revealed statistically significant higher association strengths for the P1 and dF2 generations (medians of 0.375 and 0.333, respectively) compared to other generations (medians of 0.200 and 0.174), possibly due to longer exposure duration and altered cross-talk between pregnant P1 dam and its conceptus. Overall, it is concluded that co-occurrence of associated effects in the same study is rather infrequent and that associations with effects in P1 and dF2 are stronger than all other associations. In general, the findings underscore the importance of independently analyzing each effect per generation due to the generally low co-occurrence rates of associated effects, challenging traditional expectations of generational continuity in toxic effects.

Integrated toxicity of secondary, tertiary, wetland effluents on human stem cells triggered by ERα and PPARγ agonists

Residual pollutants in discharged and reused water pose both direct and indirect human exposure. However, health effects caused by whole effluent remain largely unknown due to the lack of human relevant model for toxicity test. Effluents from four secondary wastewater treatment plants (SWTPs), a tertiary wastewater treatment plant (TWTP) and a constructed wetland (CW) were evaluated for the integrated toxicity of the organic extractions. Multiple-endpoint human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) assay was used as an in vitro model relevant to human health. The effluents caused cytotoxicity, oxidative stress and genotoxicity in MSCs. The osteogenic and neurogenic differentiation were inhibited and the adipogenic differentiation were stimulated by some of the effluent extractions. The SWTP, TWTP and CW treatments reduced integrated biomarker response (IBR) by 26.3 %, 17.5 % and 33.3 % respectively, where the IBR values of final CW (8.3) and TWTP (8.2) effluents were relatively lower than SWTPs (9.1). Among multiple biomarkers, the inhibition of osteogenesis was the least reduced by wastewater treatment. Besides, ozone disinfection in tertiary treatment increased cytotoxicity and differentiation effects suggesting the generation of toxic products. The mRNA expressions of estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) were significantly upregulated by effluents. The inhibitory effects of effluents on neural differentiation were mitigated after antagonizing ERα and PPARγ in the cells. It is suggested that ERα and PPARγ agonists in effluents were largely accountable for the impairment of stem cell differentiation. Besides, the concentrations of n-C29H60, o-cresol, fluorene and phenanthrene in the effluents were significantly correlated with the intergrated stem cell toxicity. The present study provided toxicological evidence for the relation between water contamination and human health, with an insight into the key toxicity drivers. The necessity for deep water treatment and the potential means were suggested for improving water quality.

Fabrication of imidazoline-linked cationic covalent triazine framework for enrichment of environmental estrogens

Imidazoline-linked cationic covalent triazine framework (IM-iCTF) was facilely prepared through the Debus-Radziszewski reaction, involving 4,4',4''-(1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triyl)trianiline, formaldehyde and methylglyoxal. The IM-iCTF was applied as a sorbent for cartridge solid-phase extraction (SPE). It provided good adsorption performance for estrogen and estrogen mimics including bisphenol F, bisphenol A, 7β-estradiol, bisphenol B and estrone. The adsorption isotherm, adsorption kinetic model, thermodynamic calculations and adsorption mechanism were investigated to reveal the adsorption behavior. The IM-iCTF was employed for the extraction of the estrogens and estrogen mimics from water, fish and shrimp (fish and shrimp samples were extracted with acetonitrile before the SPE). The analytes were then determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection. The limits of detection were 0.008-0.05 ng mL-1 for water, 0.015-0.11 μg g-1 for fish, and 0.012-0.10 μg g-1 for shrimp samples. This research not only offers a new approach to construct cationic covalent triazine framework, but also provides a reliable strategy for the adsorption/enrichment trace level of organic pollutants.

The G Protein-Coupled Estrogen Receptor (GPER): A Critical Therapeutic Target for Cancer

Estrogens have been implicated in the pathogenesis of various cancers, with increasing concern regarding the overall rising incidence of disease and exposure to environmental estrogens. Estrogens, both endogenous and environmental, manifest their actions through intracellular and plasma membrane receptors, named ERα, ERβ, and GPER. Collectively, they act to promote a broad transcriptional response that is mediated through multiple regulatory enhancers, including estrogen response elements (EREs), serum response elements (SREs), and cyclic AMP response elements (CREs). Yet, the design and rational assignment of antiestrogen therapy for breast cancer has strictly relied upon an endogenous estrogen-ER binary rubric that does not account for environmental estrogens or GPER. New endocrine therapies have focused on the development of drugs that degrade ER via ER complex destabilization or direct enzymatic ubiquitination. However, these new approaches do not broadly treat all cancer-involved receptors, including GPER. The latter is concerning since GPER is directly associated with tumor size, distant metastases, cancer stem cell activity, and endocrine resistance, indicating the importance of targeting this receptor to achieve a more complete therapeutic response. This review focuses on the critical importance and value of GPER-targeted therapeutics as part of a more holistic approach to the treatment of estrogen-driven malignancies.

A Review on Cyclodextrins/Estrogens Inclusion Complexes

This review focuses on the methods of preparation and biological, physiochemical, and theoretical analysis of the inclusion complexes formed between estrogens and cyclodextrins (CDs). Because estrogens have a low polarity, they can interact with some cyclodextrins' hydrophobic cavities to create inclusion complexes, if their geometric properties are compatible. For the last forty years, estrogen-CD complexes have been widely applied in several fields for various objectives. For example, CDs have been used as estrogen solubilizers and absorption boosters in pharmaceutical formulations, as well as in chromatographic and electrophoretic procedures for their separation and quantification. Other applications include the removal of the endocrine disruptors from environmental materials, the preparation of the samples for mass spectrometric analysis, or solid-phase extractions based on complex formation with CDs. The aim of this review is to gather the most important outcomes from the works related to this topic, presenting the results of synthesis, in silico, in vitro, and in vivo analysis.