Abstract

Several international organizations have recently highlighted endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) as factors of concern in human reproduction. Since successful reproduction is dependent on timely and appropriate action of hormones, disruption of the endocrine system could lead to difficulties in conceiving or carrying a pregnancy to term. EDCs are chemicals that disrupt the endocrine system by activating or inhibiting receptors of the endocrine system, and/or altering hormone receptor expression; signal transduction; epigenetic marks; hormone synthesis, transport, distribution, and metabolism; and the fate of hormone-producing cells. Due to the increasing production of industrial chemicals over the past century and their lenient control, EDCs are now common contaminants in the environment. Consequently, everyone faces a life-long exposure to mixtures of chemicals, some of which have been identified as EDCs. As birth rates in humans are declining and the use of assisted reproductive technologies increasing, it is timely to consider possible effects of EDCs on human reproduction and fertility. In this review, we focus on persistent EDCs, their occurrence in ovarian follicular fluid, and associations to treatment outcomes in assisted reproduction. Our summary shows that despite being banned decades ago, mixtures of persistent EDCs are still detected in the ovarian follicular fluid, demonstrating direct exposure of oocytes to these chemicals. In addition, there are several reported associations between exposure and worse outcome in in vitro fertilization. Further research is therefore warranted to prove causality, which will lead towards better regulation and exposure reduction.

 抽象的

一些国际组织最近强调内分泌干扰化学物质（EDC）是人类生殖中值得关注的因素。由于成功的繁殖取决于激素的及时和适当的作用，内分泌系统的破坏可能会导致受孕或足月妊娠的困难。 EDC 是通过激活或抑制内分泌系统受体和/或改变激素受体表达来破坏内分泌系统的化学物质；信号转导；表观遗传标记；激素合成、运输、分布和代谢；以及产生激素的细胞的命运。由于过去一个世纪工业化学品产量的增加及其宽松的控制，EDC 现在已成为环境中的常见污染物。因此，每个人都会终生接触化学混合物，其中一些已被确定为 EDC。随着人类出生率的下降和辅助生殖技术的使用增加，现在应该考虑 EDC 对人类生殖和生育力可能产生的影响。在这篇综述中，我们重点关注持久性 EDC、它们在卵巢卵泡液中的发生情况，以及与辅助生殖治疗结果的关联。我们的总结表明，尽管几十年前就已被禁止，但在卵巢卵泡液中仍然检测到持久性 EDC 混合物，这表明卵母细胞直接暴露于这些化学物质。此外，有报道称暴露与体外受精的不良结果之间存在关联。因此，有必要进行进一步的研究来证明因果关系，这将导致更好的监管和减少风险。