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Potential role of hormonally active environmental contaminants in human reproductive tract developmental abnormalities


Abstract

Fetal development and early postnatal life are periods of rapid growth, organ differentiation and development and are thus considered to be a period of increased sensitivity to the adverse effects of environmental or other toxicants. Sexual differentiation is a complicated, hormone-dependent sequence of molecular and cellular processes that must occur with precision and coordination to develop the male reproductive system and associated secondary sexual characteristics. Sexual differentiation, organogenesis and development of the endocrine system are sensitive to exogenous insults during prenatal development. Experimental animal studies have shown that exposure to environmental or other toxicants during these relatively brief critical windows of susceptibility can disrupt interdependent developmental processes and cause persistent functional and structural changes. Research findings have also shown that some reproductive tract toxicants specifically interfere with normal endocrine function but most have multiple mechanisms of actions and targets. The objective of this review is to describe the potential role of hormonally active environmental toxicants in the etiology of birth defects and functional abnormalities of the reproductive tract.

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