EDC Science Weekly, Jan. 30 – Feb. 5, 2026

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:

The assumption of a threshold is false in risk assessments for endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs): a policy failure by the US FDA.
Microplastics, nanoplastics, and plastic chemicals: applying the key characteristics of metabolism disruptors
The global plastics treaty can be saved – here’s how to break the deadlock.
An Old Cholesterol Drug Could Help Clear PFAS.

Science summaries and highlights

Events

Feb. 10 – June 9: Environment and Health webinar series [Mount Sinai]

Feb. 12 webinar: EDCs & Reproductive Health: Effects of chemical mixtures on ovarian function [EDC Strategies Partnership]

Feb. 27 application due date for the Endocrine Society’s Kaiser-Goldberg Research Fellowship program.

Mar. 12 webinar: How to get plastic out of student meals [Beyond Plastics]

May 6: ECHO Symposium: Translating Science to Action (hybrid) [NIH]

June 28 – July 3: New and emerging threats, approaches, and mitigation strategies for environmental endocrine disruptors [Gordon Research Conference] and accompanying Gordon Research Seminar June 27 – 28, Harnessing interdisciplinary evidence for endocrine disruption.

Oct. 12-16, conference: MICRO 2026: Plastic pollution from macro to nano [in Cadiz, Spain]

Regulations/Policy

The assumption of a threshold is false in risk assessments for endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) when endogenous hormones being disrupted are already above any possible threshold: a policy failure by the US FDA.

The global plastics treaty can be saved – here’s how to break the deadlock.

Boundaries, Limits, Global Threats – How Can the Impacts of Global Synthetic Pollutants Be Reduced?

Analysis of two guideline-compliant developmental neurotoxicity studies with imidacloprid to assist the interpretation of findings that impact global registrations.

Evidence Integration in TSCA Risk Evaluation: The Value of Tiered Risk Assessment – A Case Study Using HHCB.

More EDC policy, FPF’s regulations open for comment, and Science’s Trump-Tracker.

Methods/Tools/Screening

Lost in NAMs-lation: A review of animal-free science definitions.

PubChemLite Plus Collision Cross Section (CCS) Values for Enhanced Interpretation of Nontarget Environmental Data

Integrating human exposome data into next-generation risk assessment: a systematic framework to infer real-life exposure levels and prioritize chemical compounds for testing.

Network-Based Assessment of Environmental Neurotoxicants Using High-Throughput Transcriptomics in Zebrafish Embryos.

A chemical space model for the exploration of eco-toxicological data.

Characterizing Accuracy of Model Predictions for Chemical Concentration in High Throughput Screening Assays.

Multiple-index interaction models to accommodate exposure grouping in environmental mixtures.

Commentaries

An Old Cholesterol Drug Could Help Clear PFAS.

Microplastics in organ transplantation: An emerging threat requiring immediate action.

Reviews/Meta-Analyses

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

The association between environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals and allergic disorders in children: A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis.

Epigenetic Mechanisms of Reproductive Dysfunction Induced by Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: Evidence From Molecular Studies.

What known about endocrine disrupting chemicals and bone metabolism.

Maternal environmental exposure and early-life health risks: The modulating role of nutritional status-A scoping review.

Bisphenols

Bisphenol A as a local immune disruptor in the male reproductive tract.

Parabens/Triclosan/Antimicrobials

Triclosan’s interference with endocrine signalling: A mechanistic investigation.

Flame Retardants

Environmental occurrence, human exposure and multidimensional toxicity effects of 2-ethylhexyl diphenyl phosphate (EHDPP): Toxicological mechanism analysis and future research prospects.

Pesticides

Rethinking Insecticide Toxicology for the 21st Century.

Decoding the chemical burden: 2020-2025 insights into pesticide toxicity, risk assessment, mitigation strategies, and future prospects in honey bees (Apis spp.).

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Microplastics, nanoplastics, and plastic chemicals: applying the key characteristics of metabolism disrupting agents shows reason for concern

Impact of Microplastic Exposure on Human Health: A Systematic Review of Mechanisms, Biomarkers, and Clinical Outcomes.

Micro/nanoplastics as environmental mediators: A systematic review of sources and interfacial processes driving cross-media transport and impacts.

Microplastics as vectors of antibiotics, heavy metals, and PFAS from agricultural soils to the food chain: Sources, transport pathways, and human health implications.

Atmospheric Microplastics: A Review of Pollution Characteristics, Human Exposure Pathways, and Emerging Health Risks.

Miscellaneous

Environmental epigenetics: new horizons in redefining biological and health outcomes.

From exposure models to multi-organ toxicity of 6PPD-quinone in mice: A mini-review.

Human Health Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Residential proximity to active and abandoned oil and gas development and risk of childhood Ewing sarcoma in California

Phthalates

Phthalates measured at birth and risk of testicular cancer in adolescents and young adults.

PFAS

Early-Childhood Exposure to Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and Neurobehavioral Development in Children.

Associations between prenatal per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and repeated measures of bioactive lipids during pregnancy in the LIFECODES cohort.

Association between Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Exposure and Reproductive Longevity for Female in the United States: A Population-Based Study.

Metabolic perturbations associated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and their relationships with glycated hemoglobin in the Dutch PIAMA birth cohort.

Polyfluoroalkyl substances and altered glucose homeostasis in adolescents following bariatric surgery.

Structure-dependent association between Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances and hemoglobin in the Chinese population: insights from epidemiological analysis and molecular simulations.

Inflammation mediates the association between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance exposure and kidney function: Integrating epidemiological and animal evidence.

Pesticides

Associations of prenatal exposure to organophosphate, pyrethroid, and neonicotinoid insecticides with maternal and infant urinary reproductive hormones.

Prenatal exposure to multiple insecticides and reduced birth weight: a possible mediating role of plasma metabolomic alterations.

Association between glyphosate exposure and renal injury: evidence from NHANES 2013-2016.

Associations Between Urinary Pesticide Metabolites and Serum Inflammatory Biomarkers in Adolescents Living in an Agricultural Region.

Metals/Metalloids

Association between urinary cesium levels and testosterone deficiency in men in the United States: A cross-sectional study using NHANES 2011 to 2016.

Longitudinal triglyceride-glucose index and Metal Interactions: A multi-model cohort integrating synergistic and antagonistic indices.

Air Pollution

Maternal exposure to PM_2.5 and its major components and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: evidence from a case-control study in Southern China.

Air Pollution Exposure and Birth Weight in the ECHO Cohort.

Laboratory Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Maternal preconception and gestational exposure to a mixture of short half-life food chemicals altered fetoplacental development in a rabbit model, based on a French mother-child cohort.

Bisphenols

Bisphenol S and F Disrupt Cerebellar Functions and Neuronal Health: The Role of Estrogen Receptor and BMP2 Signaling.

Binding Activities of Bisphenol Analogues toward TTR and TBG and Their Potential to Disrupt Thyroid Hormone Homeostasis.

Phthalates

Disruptive effects of phthalates and their substitutes on adrenal steroidogenesis.

Long-term exposure to di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate induced uterine histopathologic alterations in female mice.

A novel metabolic gene signature induced by Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and Mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate exposure predicts prognosis in breast cancer: An integrative bioinformatics and experimental study.

DEHP-associated toxic targets in endometrial carcinoma: prognostic value and immunological implications.

Phthalate Metabolite, Mono(2-Ethyl-5-Hydroxyhexyl) Phthalate (MEHHP), Promotes Uterine-Fibroid-Associated Phenotypes in Myometrial Stem Cell-Derived 3D Organoids.

Di-n-butyl phthalate induces NF-κB-mediated senescence-associated secretory phenotype to promote epithelial proliferation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Mechanistic evidence for dibutyl phthalate as an environmental trigger for inflammatory bowel disease.

Identifying key molecular interactions and pathways linking DEHP and its metabolite MEHP to allergic rhinitis: a network toxicology and molecular dynamics study.

Persistent Organic Pollutants: PCBs, Dioxin, OCPs

Chemical-Class Submixture Screening Reveals Drivers of Endocrine Disruption in Personalized Human Blood POP Mixtures.

PFAS

Are PFAS Alternatives Safer? A Network Toxicology Analysis Suggests Comparable or Novel Risks for Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy.

PFAS Alter Thyroid Histology and Cellular Signaling In Vitro and In Vivo.

Effects of PFOA and emerging alternatives at environmental concentrations on murine- and human-derived microglia: A comparative study.

Neurotoxicity Mechanisms of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances: An Integrated Study of Network Toxicology, Molecular Docking, and Mendelian Randomization.

Unraveling Structure-Toxicity Relationships of PFAS: Insights from Quantum Chemical Descriptors and QSAR Models.

Chronic perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) exposure induces apoptosis and inflammation of gill in zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Identification of potential mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction induced by environmentally relevant PFAS mixture in male rats.

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) causes dysfunction of erythrocytes by calcium dysregulation, and a diabetic condition exacerbates PFOS-induced prothrombotic activation.

Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid-induced inhibition of human palate cell proliferation through upregulation of miR-374a-5p.

Gut microbial ammonia as a mediator of PFOS neurotoxicity and its remediation by the flavonoid Icaritin.

PFHxS is predicted to bind KEAP1 and is associated with NRF2-NQO1 activation in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Metabolic effects and biotransformation of perfluorohexyloctane in human hepatocytes.

Mechanistic insights into PFAS derivatives-induced coronary heart disease and atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis via integrated network toxicology and molecular modeling.

Development of a generic Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model for female mouse including gestation: application to PFOA to link environmental levels to New Approaches Methodologies (NAMs) results for environmental risk assessment.

HFPO-TA, a PFOA replacement, causes greater gut-liver toxicity in hook snout carp (Opsariichthys bidens) than PFOA, and is mitigated by curcumin.

Flame Retardants

TDCIPP disrupts decidual macrophage function to induce miscarriage through ferroptosis-mediated DNA damage.

Network toxicology and experimental validation reveal TDCPP as an emerging environmental risk factor for chronic kidney disease.

Pesticides

The endocrine disruptor chlorpyrifos alters hypothalamic Npy and Agrp expression via ERβ-dependent regulation in vitro and in vivo.

Permethrin Decreased Insulin Secretion and the Expression of Proteins Linked to Metabolism and Exocytosis in INS832/3 Pancreatic Beta Cells.

Chronic neonicotinoid exposure disrupts survival, development, digestive enzymes, and gut microbiome in honeybee queen larvae (Apis mellifera L.).

Neuropeptide S Protects Dopaminergic Neurons in a Paraquat-Induced Parkinson’s Model Using SH-SY5Y Cells.

Metals/Metalloids

Pioglitazone Mitigates Arsenic-Induced Cardiotoxicity via Lipid Metabolism: Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking Approach.

Multigenerational effects of uranium exposure reveal stronger testicular dysregulation in the second generation.

Short-Chain Fatty Acids Mitigate Perinatal Methylmercury-Induced Cognitive Impairment Via Modulation of the Gut Microbiota Composition.

Exploring the toxic mechanism of cypermethrin-induced neurodegeneration diseases via network toxicology and molecular docking.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Paternal Microplastic Exposure Alters Sperm Small Noncoding RNAs and Affects Offspring Metabolic Health in Mice.

Adolescent exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics induces male reproductive damage via the microbiome-gut-testis axis.

Co-exposure to PFOA, PFBA and nanoplastics synergistically exacerbates neurotoxicity by impairing PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy.

Photoaged Polystyrene Microplastics Accelerate Aging in Caenorhabditis elegans via Ferroptosis-Linked Insulin Signaling Pathway.

Nanoplastics Induce SH-SY5Y Cell Damage Through Oxidative Stress and Disruption of Amino Acid Metabolism.

Amino-Modified Polystyrene Nanoplastics Induce Endothelial Pyroptosis and Pro-Atherogenic Cellular Responses.

Complementary analysis of pristine, UV-aged and extracted microplastics using single particle ICP-MS and OF2i-Raman spectroscopy.

Gut microbiota and metabolic disruption induced by food chain-transferred nanoplastics: A mediating role of CYP26A1 in retinoic acid toxicity.

Taurine Mitigates Microplastic-Induced Neurotoxicity Through Modulation of Neurobehavior, Neurotransmitters, Oxidative Stress, and AKT-1/CREB-1/BDNF Signaling in Mice.

Testicular mitochondrial redox imbalance and impaired oxidative phosphorylation underlie microplastic-induced testicular dysfunction in Wistar rats.

Preliminary study of polyethylene microplastics disrupting energy Metabolism, redox Balance, and prefrontal cortex structure in Wistar rats.

The Effects of Polystyrene Nanoplastic and Bisphenol A Exposure on the Thyroid Gland in Mice.

Polystyrene nanoplastics exacerbate dibutyl phthalate-induced liver fibrosis through PDGFRα-dependent hepatic stellate cell activation.

Air Pollution

PM_2.5-bound nitrated and oxygenated PAHs induced lipid metabolism disorder through different target organs.

Miscellaneous

Maternal dibutyl benzene-1,2-dicarboxylate exposure accelerates bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells senescence to induce skeletal retardation in male offspring mice.

Integrated omics and machine learning uncover the molecular basis of environmental toxicant 6PPD-Qinduced non-obstructive azoospermia.

6PPD-Q exposure promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression and confers resistance to ferroptosis.

Acute low-dose benzo[a]pyrene exposure induces neurodegenerative syndrome in cyp1a low-expression zebrafish: A novel living Bioindicator for dioxin-like environmental pollutants.

Exposure/Environment Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

A hidden route of exposure: adsorption of endocrine disrupting compounds and chemicals of emerging concern on tire rubber.

Persistent Organic Pollutants: PCBs, Dioxin, OCPs

Spatial distribution and risk assessment of polychlorinated biphenyl compounds from open incineration of used medical disposable face masks.

Widespread Emissions of Polychlorinated Biphenyls from Building Materials in Vermont Schools.

PFAS

Beyond the watchlist: How the TOP assay exposes untargeted PFASs for current and future regulations in consumer products.

Association between outdoor clothing use and serum perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): Korean National Environmental Health Survey cycle 4.

Ecotoxicological biomarkers in Scopoli’s shearwaters (Calonectris diomedea) from an Eastern Mediterranean colony and associations with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in their feathers.

PFAS contamination and fluorine mass balance in sediments of the Upper Ganges River and Ganges Canal.

Temporal Trends of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in Tibetan Plateau Sediment Cores (1952-2020): Tracking Global Emission History and Industrial Transformation in PFAS Production.

Revealing Overlooked Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the Pearl River Estuary Using a Comprehensive Analytical Approach.

Flame Retardants

Effect of Stockholm Convention Listing on Temporal Trends of Halogenated Flame Retardants in Herring Gull Eggs in Canada (2008-2023).

(Non)targeted analysis and environmental fate characterizing of novel organophosphorus flame retardants and plasticizers in dust samples from large-scale residential homes in China.

Metals/Metalloids

Lead in archived hair documents a decline in lead exposure to humans since the establishment of the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Microplastics in small semi-industrial desalination stations and bottled waters: Human exposure and emerging health concerns.

Assessment of potential health risk from microplastic contamination in packaged frozen seafood.

Elucidating the role of microplastics as reservoirs of brominated flame retardants in river sediment.

Communicating scientific uncertainties: Effects of message and audience characteristics in the context of microplastic health risks.

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This list is not meant to be exhaustive, and generally does not include studies on detection, remediation, or treatment of EDCs. Industry-funded articles are included without notation. 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. There are searchable archives. Compiled by Sarah Howard of Healthy Environment and Endocrine Disruptor Strategies (HEEDS), a program of Environmental Health Sciences.

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