EDC Science Weekly, Oct. 16-22, 2026

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

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

Highlights:

Effect modification of maternal concentrations of PFAS on vaccine effectiveness in children up to 6: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study.
Prenatal exposure to di(isononyl) cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylate and adverse birth outcomes in the USA: a prospective analysis of births in a large American birth cohort.
An overlooked source of inhalational and dermal exposure to BPA and its chlorinated derivatives in disposable face masks.
Higher respiratory microplastic burden in patients with lung malignancy: A prospective bronchoscopy study.

Science summaries and highlights

Events

Oct. 22 webinar (today!): Science for Public Health Policy: Understanding correlation and causation [EDC Strategies Partnership]

Oct. 22 webinar: Environmental policies that work for working Americans [Game Changers]

Oct. 27 webinar: The ovarian cost of convenience: Phthalate exposure and ovarian function [Merlon]

Oct. 27 virtual launch: Microplastics in Me: Finding plastics in human bood [Plastic Pollution Coalition, CAPE, and more]

Nov. 4-5 meeting: Scientific Advisory Committee on Alternative Toxicological Methods [National Toxicology Program]

Nov. 5 in-person Boston event: Plastic-Free Future: Protecting People and the Planet [Just Zero & Plastic Free Mass]

Nov. 7, 10, or 12: Grassroots advocacy trainings [Beyond Plastics]

Nov. 17 webinar: Reducing EDC Exposures: From informed consumers to policy solutions [EDC Strategies Partnership]

Nov. 17 webinar: Keeping Fracking Out and Reining Fracking In: Protecting Public Health with New Research Data [Catskill Mountainkeeper and NY PSR]

Nov. 17: Health and Chemicals Forum [Food Packaging Forum and NYU Grossman School of Medicine] in conjunction with:

Nov. 16-20 First International Conference: Global Framework on Chemicals [UNEP]

Nov. 17-18: UCSF Industry Documents Library Workshop [UCSF]

Nov. 19 webinar: Systems Thinking and Collaboration for One Health: Bridging Chemicals, Environment and Health in Europe [ECHA]

Dec. 7-8 workshop: Plastics, Microplastics, and Plastic Chemicals: Emerging Impacts on Human Heart, Lung, Blood, and Sleep Health [NIEHS and NHLBI]

Dec. 15 due date for Call for Papers: Microplastics, Community Health, and Public Health Actions [American Journal of Public Health]

Jan. 25, 2027 due date for abstracts: The Microplastics and Nanoplastics Summit, May 9-12, 2027 in Lincoln, Nebraska

Mar. 31, 2027 due date for Call For Papers: The Chemical Safety Knowledge Landscape: Mapping What We Know and What We Need to Know [ACS Publications]

Regulations/Policy

Make plastics an explicit consideration in the High Seas Treaty.

Closing biosafety gaps in the global plastics treaty.

Preventing regrettable substitution through regulatory frameworks: using REACH regulation and Stockholm Convention as case studies.

Insufficient Environmental Protection by the European Regulatory Framework for Pesticides.

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

Methods/Tools/Screening

vToxiNet: An interpretable deep learning framework for hepatotoxicity prediction and mechanism exploration.

A Data-Driven Approach for the Development of a Time-Informed Adverse Outcome Pathway Network for the Cardiotoxicity of Environmental Chemicals.

Reviews/Meta-Analyses

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

The epigenetic mechanisms mediating the long-term impacts of toxicants on brain functions and health.

The Childhood Estrobolome: A Missing Link in Early Puberty Onset.

The Role of the Gut-Liver Axis in the Development of Liver Diseases Induced by Selected Environmental Pollutants: A Narrative Review.

Male reproductive health under environmental, pharmacological, and disease influences: a scoping review.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals in male reproductive health: exposure risks, reproductive toxicity and emerging perspectives.

Bisphenols

Bisphenol A and prostate cancer: from population exposure to context-dependent mechanisms and translational implications.

Association of bisphenol A exposure on hormone-associated benign and malignant disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Phthalates

Phthalates in Animal Husbandry-A Narrative Review.

PFAS

From stable to table: Tracing the “forever chemical” vector through the food animal supply chain.

Pesticides

Lambda-cyhalothrin and male reproductive dysfunction: neurotoxicity, hypogonadism, erectile dysfunction, and infertility.

Metals/Metalloids

Low-to-Moderate Arsenic Exposure and DNA Methylation: A Review of Life-Course Evidence and Mechanistic Insights.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Plastics in Human Reproductive Tissues: A Systematic Review of Detection, Characterization, and Effects on Fertility.

Detection, characterization, and quantification of microplastics in human biological matrices: a systematic review.

Dietary Components as Promising Candidates for Mitigating Micro- and Nanoplastic-Associated Metabolic Dysfunctions.

Polyurethane-Derived Microplastics and Nanoplastics: Sources, Human Exposure, and Toxicological and Health Effects.

Microplastics as Microbiota Modulators: Rewiring the Gut Metabolism Immune Axis.

Microplastics, nanoplastics, and thrombogenesis.

Micro/nanoplastics: from synthesis to assimilation, global environmental impacts, challenges, consequences, and advanced remediation strategies.

Tire Wear Chemicals

A comprehensive review of the neurobehavioral and neurotoxic effects of 6PPD-Q in fish, rodents, and humans.

Tire-Derived 6PPD-Quinone in Water: Environmental Fate, Ecological Risks, and Advances in Its Mitigation.

Human Health Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Associations of Early Pregnancy Contaminant Exposure with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Mediation by Metabolic Pathway Perturbations.

The association of urinary xenoestrogens levels in pregnant women and their risk of missed miscarriage.

Emerging plastic additives in umbilical cord serum, metabolomic profiles, and fetal growth restriction: A case-control study.

Combined Effect of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, Toxic Metals, Phthalates and Volatile Organic Compounds on Reproductive Hormones.

Phthalates

Prenatal exposure to di(isononyl) cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylate and adverse birth outcomes in the USA: a prospective analysis of births in a large American birth cohort.

Urinary phthalate exposure in relation to plasma neurofilament light chain and cognitive function among older adults: Repeated-measures and cross-sectional analyses.

PFAS

Effect modification of maternal concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances on vaccine effectiveness in children up to 6 years of age: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study.

PFAS exposure in 12-year-old children and its association with metabolic markers.

Pesticides

Tebuconazole-induced ferroptosis impairs human trophoblast function via GPX4: A multi-omics study on unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss.

Impact of prenatal pyrethroid pesticide exposure on neonatal lymphocyte subsets and apoptosis: a birth cohort study.

Metals/Metalloids

Association between urinary heavy metal(loid)s exposure and dyslipidemia in children from e-waste dismantling areas.

Modifying effects of Folate, Vitamin B₁₂ Status on associations between metals exposure and mild cognitive impairment incidence: A prospective cohort study of adults living along the Yangtze River, China.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Higher respiratory microplastic burden in patients with lung malignancy: A prospective bronchoscopy study.

Air Pollution

Socioeconomic disadvantage, air pollution, and metabolic health among women: analyses of UK Biobank and US data.

Laboratory Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Environmental chemical mixtures reprogram mammary epithelial development to epigenetic states associated with breast cancer.

Network toxicology screening of plastic-associated chemicals reveals candidates with structural mimicry to Alzheimer’s disease-relevant molecules and predicted neurotoxicity.

Melatonin Mitigates Bisphenol A- and MBP-Induced Damage in Leydig Cells by Alleviating Oxidative Stress and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress via inhibition of PERK signaling pathway.

Benzo[a]pyrene and bisphenol A interact to induce combined pulmonary toxicity through an integrated transcriptomic-metabolomic network.

Bisphenols

Bisphenol A induces hepatotoxicity via a LAMP3-dependent impairment of mitophagic processing and reduced PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling.

Phthalates

Plasticizers induce central precocious puberty via dysregulation of EGFR/MYC/PTEN/mTOR-mediated HPG axis activation.

Parabens/Triclosan/Antimicrobials

Low-dose triclosan induces neurotoxicity in zebrafish via gut microbiota disruption.

PFAS

PFAS:VDR interactions and immunotoxicity through disruption of monocyte differentiation.

Gestational exposure to hexafluoropropylene oxide trimer acid impairs the reproductive function of male offspring through the LCN2-ferroptosis axis in spermatocytes.

Perfluorooctanoic acid alters mitochondrial bioenergetics and redox status in isolated mouse liver mitochondria.

Integrative multi-omics analysis reveals the PFAS-gut microbiome-FN1 axis in chronic kidney disease: From exposome to therapeutic target.

RUNX3 DNA methylation as a novel biomarker for PFAS-induced genotoxicity: Insights into 6:2 FTSA-mediated epigenetic dysregulation.

Low-level Exposure to Trifluoroacetic Acid May Induce Testicular Damage in Adolescent Mice via Ribotoxic Stress Response and NLRC5-PANoptosome-related Signaling.

PFHxS promotes renal fibrosis via PPARγ overactivation-dependent NLRP1 inflammasome-driven pyroptosis.

Cometabolic and nutrient-driven defluorination and transformation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances by metabolically versatile bacteria.

Orally-administered beta-cyclodextrin as a novel countermeasure for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid toxicity in mice.

Flame Retardants

Construction of Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) for Triphenyl Phosphate (TPHP)-Induced Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Risk Identification of Neurodevelopmental Toxicity of Aryl Organophosphorus Flame Retardants (OPFRs) Based on Multidimensional Bioinformatic Data.

Organotins

DBTCL exposure disrupts maternal-zygotic transition and mitochondrial function during early embryonic development.

Pesticides

Endocrine and systemic toxicity of pyriproxyfen in adult female zebrafish: disruption of the HPT axis and peripheral organ impairments.

Acute atrazine exposure does not impair 5α-reductase activity in hepatic and blood-brain barrier cells.

Cytotoxic and Oxidative Effects of Common Pesticides on Hepatic and Renal Cell Lines (HepG2 and Hek-293): Implications for Human Health and Environmental Safety.

Metals/Metalloids

Single-Cell Metallomics of ovarian granulosa cells enables assessment of Low-Level heavy metal exposure associated with impaired human oocyte development.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Intermittent fasting exacerbates microplastic-induced gut inflammation via Rikenella-mediated regulation of purine metabolism and Th17/Treg balance.

Size-dependent Effects of Polystyrene Micro- and Nanoplastics on Gastrointestinal Microbiota in Mice: Overlooked Axial Site-Specific Heterogeneity and Radial Mucosal-Luminal Compartment Divergence.

Laboratory larval exposure to mixed-size polystyrene micro/nanoplastics disrupts lipid metabolism and reshapes the hemolymph metabolome and gut microbiota of adult honeybee workers.

Polystyrene nanoplastics induce multi-organ oxidative stress in mice: experimental evidence and a descriptive random forest-based analysis of study-design variables.

Polystyrene nanoplastics impair mitochondrial function, quality control, and ER-mitochondria crosstalk in HeLa cells.

Polystyrene nanoplastics trigger ferroptosis-dependent liver injury caused by ACSL4 overaccumulation.

Gut Microbiota Remodeling Correlates with Pentose Phosphate Pathway Activation and Steroid Hormone Biosynthesis Dysregulation in Polystyrene Nanoplastic-Induced Hepatic Lipotoxicity.

Weathering chemistry shapes the gut microbiome-metabolome-transcriptome response of adult zebrafish to aged polyethylene microplastics.

Combined exposure to MPs and DEHP exacerbated behavioral and cognitive impairments by inducing neuronal apoptotic damage through inhibiting the KLF2/IRF4/SRF pathway.

Embryonic exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics alters developmental, antioxidant and metabolic responses without detectable short-term behavioral impairment in Plestiodon chinensis.

Prenatal microplastic exposure-induced testicular developmental toxicity and its long-term hazards in male rat offspring.

Protective Effects of Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch Polysaccharide Against Polyethylene-Microplastic-Induced Intestinal and Testicular Injury in Male Mice.

Air Pollution

Metabolic Reprogramming by Time-Restricted Feeding Confers Resistance to PM_2.5-Induced Metabolic Disturbances in Adipose Tissue.

Exposure/Environment Studies

Bisphenols

An overlooked source of inhalational and dermal exposure to bisphenol A and its chlorinated derivatives in disposable face masks.

PFAS

Assessment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure in Korean firefighters by serum analysis.

Detection of PFAS in traditional foods: Manoomin (wild rice) and Psiŋčiŋča (arrowhead) across Indigenous land in the Great Lakes region.

PFAS contamination in the Western Seto Inland Sea of Japan: Substitution lag and TFA risk alert.

Biosolids in Washington State: Putting per- and poly-fluorinated alkyl substances concerns into a real-world context.

Flame Retardants

Organophosphate Esters and Their Metabolites in Commercially Available Preprepared Dishes: Occurrence, Migration from Food Contact Materials, and Dietary Exposure.

Kinetic Aerosol Trapping Drives Arctic Enrichment of Organophosphate Flame Retardants.

Metals/Metalloids

Neighborhood stress and social vulnerability in relation to placental metals concentrations.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Co-occurrence of biodegradable and conventional microplastics in marketed marine fish and implications for human dietary exposure.

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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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