EDC Science Weekly, Dec. 1-7, 2023

Post author:HEEDS
Post published:December 7, 2023
Post category:EDC Science Weekly

A summary of articles on endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) added to PubMed this week.

Contents: Events, Regulations/Policy, Methods/Tools/Screening, Commentaries, Reviews/Meta-Analyses, Human Health Studies, Laboratory Studies, Exposure/Environment Studies

Highlights: What doctors need to know about EDCs; Plastic-eating superworms; PFAS and vaccine efficacy; transgenerational effects of warming plus BPA; personal care products and cancer; not just one, not two, not three, but four human studies and a commentary on prenatal PFAS and body weight.

More science highlights

Events

Course: Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: Hazards and Opportunities (ECHO) two-week course in May at Woods Hole is accepting applications, due Jan. 15. Financial aid is available.

Webinar Dec. 7 (today!): A universe of toxicants, universally undertested: higher throughput approaches to birth defect detection in fluorescent zebrafish [to celebrate the launch of the new Center to Advance Toxicology and Chemical Hazard Assessment (CATCHA) at the UCSF EaRTH Center]

Webinar Dec. 12: Neuroendocrine disruptors and brain development: Lessons from PCBs [EDC Strategies Partnership]

Webinar Jan. 9: Food Contact Materials: A Road Map to Improved Safety Testing [EDC Strategies Partnership]

More events

Regulations/Policy

The Global Plastics Treaty: An Endocrinologist’s Assessment.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of insecticide ban aimed at preventing Parkinson’s disease in Central California.

More EDC policy and regulations open for comment

Methods/Tools/Screening

Environmental Management Cycles for Chemicals and Climate Change, EMC⁴ : A new conceptual framework contextualizing climate and chemical risk assessment and management.

Toward implementing virtual control groups in nonclinical safety studies.

The application of human-derived cell lines in neurotoxicity studies of environmental pollutants.

CurveCurator: a recalibrated F-statistic to assess, classify, and explore significance of dose-response curves.

Application of the threshold of toxicological concern (TTC) in the evaluation of drinking water contact chemicals.

Suspected sources of microplastics and nanoplastics: Contamination from experimental reagents and solvents.

Validating blood microsampling for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances quantification in whole blood.

Reproducibility in nontarget screening (NTS) of environmental emerging contaminants: Assessing different HLB SPE cartridges and instruments.

Exploring the Effects of Experimental Parameters and Data Modeling Approaches on In Vitro Transcriptomic Point-of-Departure Estimates.

Protectiveness of NAM-based hazard assessment – which testing scope is required?

Mining toxicogenomic data for dose-responsive pathways: implications in advancing next-generation risk assessment.

SciRAPnano: a pragmatic and harmonized approach for quality evaluation of in vitro toxicity data to support risk assessment of nanomaterials.

Advancing food safety risk assessment in China: development of new approach methodologies (NAMs).

Establishment of an Integrated Nontarget and Suspect Screening Workflow for Organophosphate Diesters (Di-OPEs) and Identification of Seven Previously Unknown Di-OPEs in Food Contact Plastics.

C2D2: An Open-Source, Pan-European, Harmonised Crop Development Database for Use in Regulatory Pesticide Exposure Modelling and Risk Assessment.

Special issue in EFSA Journal on reports from the fellowship program. Includes articles such as: Risk assessment of food contact materials [re BPA]; Cumulative risk assessment with pesticides in the framework of MRL setting, etc.

More tools, reports, and resources

Commentaries

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals: Mainstream recognition of health effects and implications for the practicing internist.

Editorial: Monitoring and risk assessment of pesticide residues and mycotoxins – A potential public health concern. [intro to a research topic in Frontiers in Public Health]

A perspective on the role of physiological stresses in cancer, diabetes and cognitive disease as environmental diseases.

Reviews/Meta-Analyses

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Linking Prenatal Environmental Exposures to Lifetime Health with Epigenome-Wide Association Studies: State-of-the-Science Review and Future Recommendations.

Exploring the Effects of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and miRNA Expression in the Pathogenesis of Endometriosis by Unveiling the Pathways: a Systematic Review.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, polychlorinated biphenyls, organochlorine pesticides, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers and dysregulation of MicroRNA expression in humans and Animals-A systematic review.

Systematic transcriptome-wide meta-analysis across endocrine disrupting chemicals reveals shared and unique liver pathways, gene networks, and disease associations.

Exploring the impact of antibiotics, microplastics, nanoparticles, and pesticides on zebrafish gut microbiomes: Insights into composition, interactions, and health implications.

Do contaminants compromise the use of recycled nutrients in organic agriculture? A review and synthesis of current knowledge on contaminant concentrations, fate in the environment and risk assessment.

BPA/Phthalates

Assessing the contribution of plastic-associated obesogenic compounds to cardiometabolic diseases.

Persistent Organic Pollutants: PCBs, Dioxin, OCPs

Persistent organic pollutant exposure as a risk factor of gestational diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PFAS

Occurrence and toxicity mechanisms of perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) in fish.

Perfluoroalkyl acid precursors in agricultural soil-plant systems: Occurrence, uptake, and biotransformation.

Removing polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from wastewater with mixed matrix membranes.

Surface modifications of biopolymers for removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances from water: Current research and perspectives.

Pesticides

Dietary predictors of urinary biomarkers of pyrethroids in the general population- A scoping review.

Effects of glyphosate on earthworms: from fears to facts.

Impacts of neonicotinoids on biodiversity: a critical review.

Targeted review of maximum residue levels (MRLs) for profenofos. [EFSA]

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

The potential toxicity of microplastics on human health.

Air Pollution

Ambient air pollution and adverse birth outcomes: A review of underlying mechanisms.

Pharmaceuticals/Personal Care Products

Noxious ramifications of cosmetic pollutants on gastrointestinal microbiome: A pathway to neurological disorders.

Miscellaneous

Mental health impacts of environmental exposures: A scoping review of evaluative instruments.

Learning from Safe-by-Design for Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design: Mapping the current landscape of Safe-by-Design reviews, case studies, and frameworks.

The adverse outcome pathway for breast cancer: a knowledge management framework bridging biomedicine and toxicology.

Human Health Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Repeated measurements and mixture effects of urinary bisphenols, parabens, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and other chemicals on biomarkers of oxidative stress in pre- and postpartum women.

Joint association of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure with depression in adults.

Phthalates

The role of estrogen receptors (ERs)-Notch pathway in thyroid toxicity induced by Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) exposure: Population data and in vitro studies.

Prenatal phthalate exposure and fetal penile length and width.

Parabens/Triclosan/Antimicrobials

Associations between paraben exposure, thyroid capacity, homeostasis and pituitary thyrotropic function in the general Taiwanese: Taiwan Environmental Survey for Toxicants (TEST) 2013.

Persistent Organic Pollutants: PCBs, Dioxin, OCPs

In-utero exposure to polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and menstrual cycle function in adulthood.

Exposure to Agent Orange and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Among US Military Personnel.

PFAS

Early-life exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances and serum antibody concentrations towards common childhood vaccines in 18-month-old children in the Odense Child cohort.

Associations of Prenatal Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS) Exposures with Offspring Adiposity and Body Composition at 16-20 Years of Age: Project Viva. [see related Invited Perspective: Long-Term Effects of Gestational PFAS Exposures on Adiposity-Time for Solutions.]

Associations of cord plasma per- and polyfluoroakyl substances (PFAS) with neonatal and child body composition and adiposity: The GUSTO study.

Prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and early childhood adiposity and cardiometabolic health in the Healthy Start study.

Prenatal exposure to Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and adiposity measures of children at 4 and 6 years: A prospective birth cohort in China.

Flame Retardants

Prenatal exposure to organophosphate esters and growth trajectory in early childhood.

Pesticides

Glyphosate Use and Mosaic Loss of Chromosome Y among Male Farmers in the Agricultural Health Study. [see related Invited Perspective: Important New Evidence for Glyphosate Hazard Assessment.]

Maternal serum neonicotinoids during early-mid pregnancy and congenital heart diseases in offspring: An exploratory study.

Urinary Glyphosate levels and association with mortality in the 2013-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Population fraction of Parkinson’s disease attributable to preventable risk factors.

Metals/Metalloids

The association of serum toxic metals and essential elements during early pregnancy with body mass index trajectory of infants during the first years: A prospective study.

High lithium concentration at delivery is a potential risk factor for adverse outcomes in breastfed infants: a retrospective cohort study.

Associations between metals and metabolomic profiles related to diabetes among adults in a rural region.

Targeting the ‘DNA methylation mark’: Analysis of early epigenetic-alterations in children chronically exposed to arsenic.

Air Pollution

Long-Term Exposure to Low-Level PM2.5 and Mortality: Investigation of Heterogeneity by Harmonizing Analyses in Large Cohort Studies in Canada, United States, and Europe.

DNA methylation profiles reveal sex-specific associations between gestational exposure to ambient air pollution and placenta cell-type composition in the PRISM cohort study.

Air pollution after acute bronchiolitis is a risk factor for preschool asthma: a nested case-control study.

Prenatal exposure to fine particulate matter chemical constituents and the risk of stillbirth and the mediating role of pregnancy complications: A cohort study.

Pharmaceuticals/Personal Care Products

Use of personal care product mixtures and incident hormone-sensitive cancers in the Sister Study: A U.S.-wide prospective cohort.

Miscellaneous

Association between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure and liver function: The mediating roles of inflammation and oxidative stress.

Laboratory Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

An adverse outcome pathway-based approach to assess the neurotoxicity by combined exposure to current-use pesticides.

Investigation of the miRNA levels changes to acceptable daily intake dose pesticide mixture exposure on rat mesentery and pancreas.

Environmental chemicals change extracellular lipidome of mature human white adipocytes.

BPA/Phenols

Warming and pollution interact to alter energy transfer efficiency, performance and fitness across generations in zebrafish (Danio rerio).

The relationship between miR-21, DNA methylation, and bisphenol a in bovine COCs and granulosa cells.

Bisphenol A induces non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by promoting the O-GlcNAcylation of NLRP3.

Perinatal exposure to bisphenol A or S: Effects on anxiety-related behaviors and serotonergic system.

Bisphenol a alternatives suppress human and rat aromatase activity: QSAR structure-activity relationship and in silico docking analysis.

Bisphenol S induces brown adipose tissue whitening and aggravates diet-induced obesity in an estrogen-dependent manner.

Gestational exposure to bisphenol AF causes endocrine disorder of corpus luteum by altering ovarian SIRT-1/Nrf2/NF-kB expressions and macrophage proangiogenic function in mice.

Exploring aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) as a target for Bisphenol-A (BPA)-induced pancreatic islet toxicity and impaired glucose homeostasis: protective efficacy of ethanol extract of Centella asiatica.

Effects of trichlorobisphenol A on the expression of proteins and genes associated with puberty initiation in GT1-7 cells and the relevant molecular mechanism.

Icariin rescues developmental BPA exposure induced spatial memory deficits in rats.

Lipid metabolism analysis providing insights into nonylphenol multi-toxicity mechanism.

Phthalates

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Pro-Inflammatory Responses Induced by Phthalate Metabolites Monoethylhexyl Phthalate and Monobutyl Phthalate in 1.1B4 Pancreatic Beta Cells.

Prenatal exposure to low-dose di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) induces potentially hepatic lipid accumulation and fibrotic changes in rat offspring.

Worsening of imiquimod-induced psoriasiform inflammation in mice by environmental pollutant, di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate through dysregulation in IL-17A and Nrf2/iNOS signaling in peripheral myeloid and CD4 + T cells.

Parabens/Triclosan/Antimicrobials

Embryonic and larval exposure to propylparaben induces developmental and long-term neurotoxicity in zebrafish model.

Triclosan induces earlier puberty onset in female mice via interfering with L-type calcium channels and activating Pik3cd.

Chronic triclosan exposure induce impaired glucose tolerance by altering the gut microbiota.

PFAS

Adipogenic and osteogenic effects of OBS and synergistic action with PFOS via PPARγ-RXRα heterodimers.

Potential toxic effects of perfluorobutanesulfonyl fluoride analysis based on multiple-spectroscopy techniques and molecular modelling analysis.

Perfluorooctanoic acid inhibits androgen biosynthesis in rat immature Leydig cells.

Flame Retardants

Perinatal triphenyl phosphate exposure induces metabolic dysfunctions through the EGFR/ERK/AKT signaling pathway: Mechanistic in vitro and in vivo studies.

Pesticides

Melatonin inhibits atrazine-induced mitochondrial impairment in cerebellum of mice: Modulation of cGAS-STING-NLRP3 axis-dependent cell pyroptosis.

Investigating the effect of pH on the interaction of cypermethrin with human serum albumin: Insights from spectroscopic and molecular dynamics simulation studies.

Differential effects of pesticides on dioxin receptor signaling and p53 activation.

Effects of glyphosate herbicide ingestion on kidney function in rats on a balanced diet.

Low-dose exposure to malathion and radiation results in the dysregulation of multiple neuronal processes, inducing neurotoxicity and neurodegeneration in mouse.

Cellular and molecular effects of fipronil in lipid metabolism of HepG2 and its possible connection to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

The ROS/SIRT1/STAR axis as a target for melatonin ameliorating atrazine-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and steroid disorders in granulosa cells.

ATR induces hepatic lipid metabolism disorder in rats by activating IRE1α/XBP1 signaling pathway.

Metals/Metalloids

Arsenic and UVR co-exposure results in unique gene expression profile identifying key co-carcinogenic mechanisms.

Evaluation of arsenic metabolism and tight junction injury after exposure to arsenite and monomethylarsonous acid using a rat in vitro blood-Brain barrier model.

Dynamic alterations of locomotor activity and the microbiota in zebrafish larvae with low concentrations of lead exposure.

Lead exposure aggravates glucose metabolism disorders through gut microbiota dysbiosis and intestinal barrier damage in high-fat diet-fed mice.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Continuous oral exposure to micro- and nanoplastics induced gut microbiota dysbiosis, intestinal barrier and immune dysfunction in adult mice.

Mitigative potential of kaempferide against polyethylene microplastics induced testicular damage by activating Nrf-2/Keap-1 pathway.

Polystyrene microplastics induce kidney injury via gut barrier dysfunction and C5a/C5aR pathway activation.

Polystyrene microplastics exposure aggravates acute liver injury by promoting Kupffer cell pyroptosis.

Establishment of plastic-associated microbial community from superworm gut microbiome.

Dynamic tissue model in vitro and its application for assessment of microplastics-induced toxicity to air-blood barrier (ABB).

Polylactic Acid Microplastics Do Not Exhibit Lower Biological Toxicity in Growing Mice Compared to Polyvinyl Chloride Microplastics.

Polyethylene microplastics cause apoptosis via the MiR-132/CAPN axis and inflammation in carp ovarian.

Foodborne and airborne polyethersulfone nanoplastics respectively induce liver and lung injury in mice: Comparison with microplastics.

Air Pollution

Inhalation of diesel exhaust particulate matter induces locomotor hyperactivity and its relationship with brain and gut metabolism.

Miscellaneous

Effects of perinatal exposures to a TAML catalyst on the mammary gland and hormone-sensitive outcomes in male mice.

Evaluation of tire tread particle toxicity to fish using rainbow trout cell lines.

Non-targeted analysis based on quantitative prediction and toxicity assessment for emerging contaminants in tire particle leachates.

Interspecies Differences in 6PPD-Quinone Toxicity Across Seven Fish Species: Metabolite Identification and Semiquantification.

Exposure/Environment Studies

BPA/Phenols

Comparison of 17β-estradiol, bisphenol-A and caffeine concentration levels before and after the water treatment plant.

Estimating the temporal and spatial distribution and threats of bisphenol A in temperate lakes using machine learning models.

Phthalates

Year-to-year variation in phthalate metabolites in the Midlife Women’s Health Study.

Parabens/Triclosan/Antimicrobials

Human exposure to methyl and butyl parabens and their transformation products in settled dust collected from urban, semi-urban, rural, and tribal settlements in a tropical environment.

PFAS

Legacy and alternative per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in the Bohai Bay Rim: Occurrence, partitioning behavior, risk assessment, and emission scenario analysis.

GenX uptake by wheat and rice in flooded and non-flooded soils: a greenhouse experiment.

Advanced oxidation processes may transform unknown PFAS in groundwater into known products.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in little penguins and associations with urbanisation and health parameters.

Flame Retardants/POPs

Assessment of legacy and alternative halogenated organic pollutants in outdoor dust and soil from e-waste sites in Nigeria: Concentrations, patterns, and implications for human exposure. [flame retardants and other POPs as well]

Assessing disparities in Americans’ exposure to PCBs and PBDEs based on NHANES pooled biomonitoring data.

Assessment of Daily Exposure to Organophosphate Esters through PM_2.5 Inhalation, Dust Ingestion, and Dermal Contact.

Co-occurrence of organophosphate diesters and organophosphate triesters in daily household products: Potential emission and possible human health risk.

Multi-pathway exposure assessment of organophosphate flame retardants in a southern Chinese population: Main route identification with compound-specificity.

Exposure, bioaccumulation, and risk assessment of organophosphate flame retardants in crayfish in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Sources of persistent organic pollutants and their physiological effects on opportunistic urban gulls.

Organotins

Determination of organotin compounds in marine sediments from Arctic Svalbard and West Antarctic Fildes Peninsula.

Pesticides

The Effect of Pesticide Spray Season and Residential Proximity to Agriculture on Glyphosate Exposure among Pregnant People in Southern Idaho, 2021.

Exposure levels and health implications of fungicides, neonicotinoid insecticides, triazine herbicides and their associated metabolites in pregnant women and men.

Urinary dialkylphosphate metabolites in the assessment of exposure to organophosphate pesticides: from 2000 to 2022.

Emissions of pesticides in the European Union: a new regional-level dataset.

Fate of pesticide residues in beer and its by-products.

Blood parameters of adult marsh frogs Pelophylax ridibundus (Amphibia: Ranidae) in rice paddies subjected to intense agrochemical use.

Assessment of the impacts of GABA and AChE targeting pesticides on freshwater invertebrate family richness in English Rivers.

Metals/Metalloids

The occurrence of heavy metals and antimicrobials in sewage sludge and their predicted risk to soil – Is there anything to fear?

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

An overview of microplastic pollution in the environment over the megacity of Shanghai during 2013-2022.

Miscellaneous

Trihalomethanes in developed and developing countries.

——-

This list is not meant to be exhaustive, and generally does not include studies on detection, remediation, or treatment of EDCs. Note that journal publication dates may be different from dates added to PubMed. To see the searchable archives, please email me and ask to join the EDC Science Weekly group EDC_research@googlegroups.com. The searchable archives are at https://groups.google.com/d/forum/edc_research or online at https://heeds.org/category/edc-science-weekly/. Compiled by Sarah Howard of Healthy Environment and Endocrine Disruptor Strategies (HEEDS), a program of Environmental Health Sciences.

If you enjoy this newsletter, please feel free to donate here! Thank you!

EHN EHN

Webinar: Fluoride, neurodevelopment, and cognition: a National Toxicology Program monograph
by Sarah Howard on November 19, 2024 at 5:00 pm
This Dec. 3 webinar features Dr. Kyla Taylor of NIEHS who will discuss the results of a National Toxicology Program monograph review that concluded there is "moderate confidence" in the scientific evidence that showed an association between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in children.
Webinar: Behind the scenes at EPA: What's gone wrong and what does it mean for our work?
by Sarah Howard on November 19, 2024 at 3:56 pm
This Dec. 9 webinar, Behind the scenes at EPA: what's gone wrong and what does it mean for our work? is part 2 of a series on the future of EPA decision-making. Sponsored by the Collaborative for Health and Environment (CHE), Earthjustice, and UCSF's Earth Center.
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals: hazards and opportunities (ECHO) course
by Sarah Howard on October 31, 2024 at 2:50 pm
This course focuses on the chemical, biological, and societal challenges of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and new opportunities for moving forward. ECHO is a two-week intensive bootcamp-style career development course for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and professionals in the field. It is held at Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

EHN EHN

“We have enough evidence” to act on toxic plastic exposure now
by Katherine McMahon,Sarah Howard on November 22, 2024 at 3:31 pm
In a recent commentary published in The Lancet, Dr. Leonardo Trasande of NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine emphasizes the need to address the well-established health harms from exposure to chemical additives used in plastics. “Only through a serious and concerted effort to turn off the plastic tap will we apply the lessons learned from plastic use… and avoid the invisible chemicals used in plastic materials from becoming visible in the form of a larger global pandemic of chronic disease.”
Kids who adopt a gluten-free diet have increased arsenic levels
by Katherine McMahon,Sarah Howard on November 20, 2024 at 1:32 pm
A recent study published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology found that children who adopted a gluten-free (GF) diet after being diagnosed with celiac disease had significantly increased arsenic exposure after only six months. “More research needs to be done to determine whether there are long-term effects of this bump, but overall, I think it speaks to the importance of diversifying the grains in the gluten-free diet.”
NIEHS publishes new strategic plan
by Sarah Howard on November 19, 2024 at 6:03 pm
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) published a 2025-2029 strategic plan, "Health at the Intersection of People and Their Environments."

EHN EHN

Trump’s second term could mean fewer protections for drinking water
by EHN Curators on November 21, 2024 at 12:30 pm
Donald Trump’s plans for the Environmental Protection Agency may include rolling back protections against PFAS and other drinking water threats, worrying public health advocates. Hiroko Tabuchi reports for The New York Times.
Kennedy’s fluoride policy faces obstacles
by EHN Curators on November 19, 2024 at 8:28 pm
President-elect Trump’s selection of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services won’t give him direct control over water fluoridation policies, though his influence could sway public and local debates. Miranda Willson reports for E&E News.
Scientists' Declaration for the Global Plastics Treaty
by Sarah Howard on November 19, 2024 at 5:54 pm
The signatories of this declaration are independent scientists with expertise on plastics, and who are free of conflicts of interest associated with the life cycle of plastics. Read it here and sign it here. Due Nov. 22, 2024.