EDC Science Weekly, Oct. 3-9, 2025

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:

Changes in the levels and predictors of PFAS in maternal plasma, relative to timelines of EPA PFOA Stewardship
Prenatal exposure to arsenic in drinking water and type 1 diabetes in a nationwide population-based cohort of Danish children.
Year 116 of the plastic age: a Pandora’s box as a time bomb for pregnancy?
Xenobiotics in Textiles for Infants Using Non-Targeted Approaches: The Role of Fabrics as a Source of Early-life Exposure to Potentially Harmful Chemicals.

Science summaries and highlights

Events

Today: Happy Children’s Environmental Health Day!

Oct. 22, Nov. 3, Nov. 10 webinar series: From Cells to Solutions: Emerging Tools for Studying Health and Disease [NIEHS Superfund Research Program]

Oct. 23 webinar: Science and Democracy Under Siege [PRHE’s Science Action Network]

Oct. 23 webinar: Defend Our Health: Authors & Friends featuring a discussion of plastics.

Nov. 12 webinar: Toxic chemicals in plastics [Beyond Plastics]

Dec. 1: Due date for Reach the Decisionmakers 2026 [UCSF]

Jan. 11-14: International Conference on Microplastics [in person in Santa Fe; late-breaking abstracts due Dec. 1]

More events

Regulations/Policy

Changes in the levels and predictors of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances in maternal plasma, relative to timelines of EPA PFOA Stewardship

UN politics won’t deliver an ambitious plastics treaty.

Plastic pollution is a worsening public health crisis, but there are solutions.

Breaking the “Toxic Ignorance Cycles” that Hinder New Approach Method (NAM) Acceptance in Environmental Risk Assessment.

Statement on the testing strategy and timelines for the assessment of developmental neurotoxicity and endocrine disruption properties of acetamiprid in the context of the review of the approval of the active substance. [EFSA]

Estimating safe doses of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS): an international collaboration.

More EDC policy, FPF’s regulations open for comment, Science’s Trump-Tracker, and links to preserved resources removed from U.S. federal websites

Methods/Tools/Screening

Microphysiological Systems as a Pillar of the Human Exposome Project.

Guidance to undertaking systematic evidence maps.

Mapping the ethical and sustainable transition in toxicology: a bibliometric analysis and a review of new approach methodologies.

Systematic Evaluation of In Vitro Intestinal Permeability Measurements Across Diverse Chemicals: Insights for Advancing New Approach Methods for Chemical Risk Assessment.

Commentaries

A daunting quest to map the reach and risk of nanoplastics

Pesticide Exposure and Hematological Disorders-is There a Link?

Reviews/Meta-Analyses

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

From co-occurrence to co-existence and co-exposure: Associations between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and microplastics in the environment.

Environmental Endocrine Disruptors and Breast Cancer: The Role of Bisphenols, Polychlorinated Biphenyls, Parabens, and Dioxins.

Mechanisms of disruption of the gut-brain axis by environmental endocrine disruptors.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals exposure: cardiometabolic health risk in humans.

Assessment of arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances concentrations in human milk and infant formula in the United States: a systematic review.

Phthalates

Impact of phthalate exposure on gestational diabetes mellitus: a systematic review.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Year 116 of the plastic age: a Pandora’s box as a time bomb for pregnancy? Review of clinical and fundamental data on prenatal exposure to plastics.

From exposure to neurotoxicity induced by micro-nanoplastics with brain accumulation and cognitive decline.

Environmental exposure pathways of microplastics and their toxic effects on ecosystems and the nervous system.

Nanoparticles in food: formation during cooking, migration from packaging, and nanoplastics release-food safety implications.

Airway Exposure to Microplastics: Potential Mechanisms from Epithelial Barrier Damage to the Development of Allergic Rhinitis.

Microplastics as emerging carcinogens: from environmental pollutants to oncogenic drivers.

Adverse outcome pathway networks of microplastic ecotoxicity to aquatic organisms: A critical review.

Pharmaceuticals/Personal Care Products

Organophosphorus compounds and neurological conditions: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Human Health Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Exogenous chemical exposures and metabolic disruptions in hyperuricemia: a multi-omics mediation study.

Hallmarks of EDCs among children in Southern China in Relation with obstructive sleep apnea.

BPA/Phenols

Prenatal bisphenol analogues exposure, metabolites in breast milk and offspring anthropometric growth during infancy: The Wuhan twin birth cohort study.

Bisphenol A exposure and myocardial ischemia and mitigation by L-arginine supplementation.

Phthalates

Associations between urinary biomarkers of phthalates and phthalate alternatives and female sexual function in a North American cohort.

Urinary and circulatory levels of plasticizer metabolites and their associations with renal function: a cross-sectional analysis of the NHANES cohort.

Parabens/Triclosan/Antimicrobials

Triclosan exposure exacerbates muscle wasting via senescence and IGF-1 pathway suppression: A combined epidemiological and experimental study.

Persistent Organic Pollutants: PCBs, Dioxin, OCPs

Difference in association between dioxin-like compounds and all-cause mortality among non-menopause and menopausal women: a prospective cohort study.

PFAS

Gestational PFAS concentrations in association with maternal depression and perceived stress during pregnancy and postpartum in the ECHO Cohort.

Pesticides

Prenatal pesticide exposure and neuroblastoma – A statewide case-control study in California.

Prospective associations of in utero exposure to multiple insecticides with cord blood mitochondria DNA copy number and longitudinal offspring telomere length shortening.

First trimester urine glyphosate concentrations and gestational diabetes in nulliparas: a nested case-control study.

Metals/Metalloids

Prenatal exposure to arsenic in drinking water and type 1 diabetes in a nationwide population-based cohort of Danish children.

Heavy Metal Exposure During Pregnancy and Its Association With Adverse Birth Outcomes: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Miscellaneous

Timing of puberty in girls and serum polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-albumin adduct levels: the California PAH Study.

Laboratory Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Microbiota modulates compound-specific toxicity of environmental chemicals: A multi-omics analysis in zebrafish embryos.

BPA/Phenols

The first subacute study with oral administration of bisphenol AP in male rats: Cardiovascular data and metabolite detection.

Involvement of ARTS in Bisphenol A-induced apoptosis of mouse Leydig cells.

Bisphenol A Treatment Impairs Synaptic Function in Human Cholinergic Neurons.

Bisphenol analogue exposure at low concentrations modifies heart-brain functions and transcriptomics in zebrafish larvae.

scRNA-seq deciphers molecular mechanisms of endocrine disruptor 4-nonylphenol impairing spermatogenesis in mice.

Network toxicology, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation to explore the potential mechanism of nonylphenol induced cardiotoxicity.

Phthalates

Size and end-group chemistry of linear polyethylene terephthalate oligomers matter in chemical risk assessment.

Persistent Organic Pollutants: PCBs, Dioxin, OCPs

Polychlorinated Biphenyls Alter Estrogen Receptor beta-Mediated Epigenetic Regulation, Promoting Endometriosis.

BbF-induced liver injury in Balb/c mice: AhR activation as the conductor of metabolism, oxidative stress, lipid metabolism disorder, and inflammatory response.

PFAS

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Disrupt Gut Microbiome Composition and Metabolism in Metabolic Syndrome: Evidence from a Host-Free In Vitro Colonic Model.

Intergenerational metabolic toxicity of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid exposure in adult offspring rats: a multi-omics approach.

Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid Facilitates the Migration of Choriocarcinoma Cell Line BeWo: Integrins as Potential Target.

Dietary exposure to hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA ammonium salt, GenX) alters hepatic sphingomyelin and phosphatidylcholine metabolism in Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).

Repeated in vitro exposure to PFOA impairs intestinal barrier integrity and leads to cytosolic accumulation as detected by subcellular chemical imaging.

Comparative hepatotoxicity of HFPO-TA and PFOA in Opsariichthys bidens: Greater liver injury induced by the PFOA alternative.

Flame Retardants

Gestational exposure to TDCIPP disrupts embryonic development via LEPR-mediated IL6/JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway in mice.

Pesticides

The effect of glyphosate-based herbicide on the postnatal development of the rat cerebellar cortex in male albino rats: Biochemical, anatomical, histopathological, and immunohistochemical assessments.

ER Stress Links HSP90/NLRP3-Mediated Pyroptosis in Grass Carp Brain under Synergistic Exposure to Cypermethrin and Sulfamethoxazole.

Chronic oral exposure to chlorpyrifos disrupts hepatic epigenetic regulation and induces metabolic dysfunction in mice.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Direct and Intergenerational Effects in Reproductive Parameters of Adult Male Wistar Rats and Their Offspring After Subchronic Exposure to Polystyrene Nanoplastics.

Polystyrene nanoplastics induce cognitive dysfunction and dendritic spine deterioration via excessive mitochondrial fission.

Nanoplastics and chain-length-dependent PFCs disrupt reproductive endocrinology by targeting the PKC – GnRH signaling axis.

Combined Toxicity of Organophosphate Flame Retardants and Polyethylene Microplastics on Eisenia fetida: Biochemical and Molecular Insights.

Co-exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics and glyphosate promotes intestinal apoptosis in mice via intestinal barrier impairment and immunoinflammatory dysregulation.

Polystyrene nanoplastics induce ovarian injury by PI3K-Akt pathway-driven macrophage extracellular trap formation.

Absorption, distribution, and elimination of [¹⁴C] polyethylene terephthalate nanoplastics in lactating sheep upon oral administration.

Probiotics as a therapeutic approach to alleviate reproductive harm from polystyrene microplastics in male rats.

Polystyrene microplastics are internalized by human gingival fibroblasts, enhance cell motility and induce molecular changes revealed through proteomic analysis.

Exposure/Environment Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Elucidation of Xenobiotics in Textiles for Infants Using Non-Targeted Approaches: The Role of Fabrics as a Source of Early-life Exposure to Potentially Harmful Chemicals.

Evaluation of Emerging Contaminants and Biochemical Parameters in the Blood Plasma of Wild American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis).

The influence of knowledge about endocrine-disrupting chemicals on motivation for health behaviors and the mediating role of perceived illness sensitivity: A cross-sectional analysis of women in South Korea.

Phthalates

Comprehensive indoor phthalate risk assessment: A multimedia exposure framework for quantifying population health risk and disease burden.

Exposure to conventional and non-phthalate plasticizers in representative Korean population between 2010 and 2018: Sex and age-stratified comparisons.

PFAS

Collection of multimedia measurements to evaluate PFAS human exposure sources in the residential environment.

Evaluation and comparison of tools used to quantify aggregate PFAS exposure: Extractable organic fluorine, PFAS burden scores and summed PFAS concentrations.

Effects of concurrent PFASs and CAHs on microbial communities in soil and groundwater: an insight for their ecological niches and implications for bioremediation.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Wild Amphibians: A Call for More Research.

Tree swallows as indicators of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance exposure and effects at select Department of Defense sites along the East Coast and at sites with different sources in the Upper Midwest, United States.

Flame Retardants

Simultaneous determination of 11 organophosphorus flame retardants and 6 metabolites in human urine by ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Microplastic emissions in textile wet processing: Progress, challenges, and mitigation strategies.

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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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