Abstract
Endocrine disruptors are exogenous natural or anthropogenic agents that produce adverse effects not only at the level of the individual, but also of the population and the community, by interfering with endogenous hormones in the body. Since these hormones are responsible for key processes in cellular control and communication as well as reproduction, development and behaviour, several severe impacts on ecosystems that occured during the last fifty years can now be explained by the presence of hormone mimics, acting as endocrine disruptors. Xenoestrogens such as DDT and PCBs are of special importance because they are leading to “feminized” wild life. Some of them are suspect of causing human sperm abnormalities, a decrease in sperm counts and a rise in hormone-related cancers. Since embryo development is particularly sensitive to estrogens, even small shifts in hormone levels experienced during the embryonic stage, e.g. by the presence of xenoestrogens, can cause malformations and cancer. The best known example is diethylstilbestrol (DES), a human “transplacental” carcinogen.
Since there are considerable structural differences between natural estrogens and xenoestrogens, the toxic potential cannot be derived from the chemical structure of individual substances, especially if xenoestrogens occur in complex mixtures and include yet unidentified compounds. Monitoring of effects takes advantage of the biological functions of estrogens, which act as signalling molecules. Components of the signal transduction chain can be used for effects monitoring, depending on the scope of the assay to be aimed at. The following options for detecting estrogen-like compounds are considered: receptor binding assays, DNA-binding tests of the receptor-ligand complex, and reporter gene assays measuring the estrogen-dependent modulation of gene activity. The perspectives for future biosensor approaches are discussed.
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© 1998 B. G. Teubner Verlagsgesellschaft Leipzig
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Hock, B., Seifert, M. (1998). Endocrine Disruptors: Monitoring of Effects. In: Hock, B., Barceló, D., Cammann, K., Hansen, PD., Turner, A.P.F. (eds) Biosensors for Environmental Diagnostics. Teubner-Reihe UMWELT. Vieweg+Teubner Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-322-93454-3_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-322-93454-3_12
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