Developmental Effects and Molecular Mechanisms of Environmental Antiandrogens

Industrial chemicals and environmental pollutants can disrupt reproductive development in wildlife and humans by altering the synthesis, transport, action, or elimination of gonadal steroid hormones. Steroid hormones control fundamental events in embryonic development and sex differentiation by binding to their cognate nuclear receptors, which act as steroid-inducible transcription factors to activate or repress transcription of target genes. The consequences of disrupting these events can be especially profound during embryonic development because the role of steroid hormones is crucial in controlling transient and irreversible developmental processes. Recent studies suggest that certain industrial pollutants and environmental pesticides have the potential to alter male sex development and reproductive processes in wildlife and human populations by acting as environmental antiandrogens (1–3). In some cases, laboratory studies have confirmed abnormalities of reproductive development observed in the field and have provided mechanisms to explain the disruptive effects of these environmental chemicals.