Perturbation of Nuclear Hormone Receptors by Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: Mechanisms and Pathological Consequences of Exposure

Much of the early work on Nuclear Hormone Receptors (NHRs) focused on their essential roles as mediators of sex steroid hormone signaling in reproductive development and function, and thyroid hormone-dependent formation of the central nervous system. However, as NHRs display tissue-specific distributions and activities, it is not surprising that they are involved and vital in numerous aspects of human development and essential for homeostasis of all organ systems. Much attention has recently been focused on the role of NHRs in energy balance, metabolism, and lipid homeostasis. Dysregulation of NHR function has been implicated in numerous pathologies including cancers, metabolic obesity and syndrome, Type II diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, hyperlipidemia, male and female infertility and other reproductive disorders. This review will discuss the dysregulation of NHR function by environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), and the associated pathological consequences of exposure in numerous tissues and organ systems, as revealed by experimental, clinical, and epidemiological studies.