Reproductive toxicity of combined effects of endocrine disruptors on human reproduction

Abstract

Confluence of environmental, genetic, and lifestyle variables is responsible for deterioration of human fecundity. Endocrine disruptors or endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may be found in a variety of foods, water, air, beverages, and tobacco smoke. It has been demonstrated in experimental investigations that a wide range of endocrine disrupting chemicals have negative effects on human reproductive function. However, evidence on the reproductive consequences of human exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals is sparse and/or conflicting in the scientific literature. The combined toxicological assessment is a practical method for assessing the hazards of cocktails of chemicals, co-existing in the environment. The current review provides a comprehensive overview of studies emphasizing the combined toxicity of endocrine disrupting chemicals on human reproduction. Endocrine disrupting chemicals interact with each other to disrupt the different endocrine axes, resulting in severe gonadal dysfunctions. Transgenerational epigenetic effects have also been induced in germ cells, mostly through DNA methylation and epimutations. Similarly, after acute or chronic exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals combinations, increased oxidative stress (OS), elevated antioxidant enzymatic activity, disrupted reproductive cycle, and reduced steroidogenesis are often reported consequences. The article also discusses the concentration addition (CA) and independent action (IA) prediction models, which reveal the importance of various synergistic actions of endocrine disrupting chemicals mixtures. More crucially, this evidence-based study addresses the research limitations and information gaps, as well as particularly presents the future research views on combined endocrine disrupting chemicals toxicity on human reproduction.

Advances in understanding the reproductive toxicity of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in women

“…A significant and growing body of evidence has illuminated the detrimental effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on female reproductive health, including several conditions such as infertility ( Karwacka et al, 2019 ). EDCs, a class of exogenous chemicals, disrupt the natural hormone synthesis and metabolic processes in organisms, triggering a cascade of adverse outcomes, as well as impacting embryogenesis and fetal development ( Dutta et al, 2023 ). The ubiquity of human exposure to these environmental pollutants is a pressing concern, occurring through ingestion, inhalation, or dermal absorption ( Yilmaz et al, 2020 ).…”

Environmental and Genetic Traffic in the Journey from Sperm to Offspring

“…Exposure to several endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), such as heavy metals, pesticides, dioxins, bisphenol, phthalates, etc., also affects male fertility [70]. Heavy metals like lead, cadmium, arsenic, barium, mercury, etc., affect semen quality in men by adversely affecting sperm viability and morphology [71,72].…”

The single and mixed impacts of cadmium, cobalt, lead, and PAHs on systemic immunity inflammation index in male and female

“…PAHs can also be made by the high temperatures in cooking and combined with or form small pellets in the environment ( 14 ). The human body could be exposed to PAHs through a variety of routes, such as inhaling contaminated air, consuming grilled or burned meat or food, and consuming food with airborne deposition of PAH particles, and some PAHs can pass through the skin and enter the body ( 15 ). When PAHs enter the body, the body will break down PAHs into metabolites that are subsequently excreted in urine or feces ( 16 ).…”