Receptor and Enzyme Mechanisms as Targets for Endocrine Disruptors
Receptor and Enzyme Mechanisms as Targets for Endocrine Disruptors
In this chapter, the current understanding of the mechanisms of endocrine disruption on the brain and nervous system are presented. Because the overwhelming majority of mechanistic studies on EDCs have focused on the actions mediated by nuclear hormone receptors, this mechanisms is described in detail. The chapter also discusses the classic transcriptional mechanisms of steroid action and the impact of EDCs on rapid signaling (non-genomic) mechanisms. It presents an overview of the enzymes and pathways involved in the biosynthesis of steroid hormones, which are critical to proper functioning of the HPA and HPG axis, and the neuroactive steroids synthesized and active in the mammalian brain. The potential for EDCs to alter metabolic enzymes, with a focus on possible targets in the metabolic blood-brain barrier, is presented as a potential, though largely unexplored, mode of EDC action in the brain.
Keywords: blood-brain barrier, endocrine disruption, brain, enzyme, hormone, biosynthesis
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