Title: EDCs and Estrogen Receptor Activity: A Pathway to Safer Chemical Design?

Julia R. Barrett, MS, ELS, a Madison, WI–based science writer and editor, is a member of the National Association of Science Writers and the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences. About This Article open Citation: Barrett JR. 2014. EDCs and estrogen receptor activity: a pathway to safer chemical design? Environ Health Perspect 122:A339; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.122-A339 News Topics: Biochemistry, Endocrine Disruptors, Molecular Biology Published: 1 December 2014 PDF Version (469 KB) Related EHP Article Structural and Functional Profiling of Environmental Ligands for Estrogen Receptors Vanessa Delfosse, Marina Grimaldi, Vincent Cavaillès, Patrick Balaguer, and William Bourguet Estrogen receptors are some of the primary targets of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). In a new report in this issue of EHP, biochemical, structural, biophysical, and cell-based experiments reveal critical information about the activity of 12 EDCs at the molecular and atomic levels.1 The EDCs tested, including the plasticizer bisphenol A and the flame retardant tetrachlorobisphenol A, are suspected to have a role in the development of various cancers and developmental, reproductive, and metabolic disorders via interactions with estrogen receptors. “A better understanding of the many ways by which environmental pollutants interfere with nuclear receptor signaling will help in predicting the residual hormonal activity of an existing industrial compound and ratio...
Source: EHP Research - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Featured News Science Selection Biochemistry December 2014 Endocrine Disruptors Molecular Biology Source Type: research