Endocrine-disrupting agents on healthy human tissues.

A vast number of substances have been suggested as possibly contributing to perturbation of the endocrine system. Several have been tested with different approaches ranging from yeast expression system of human oestrogenic receptors to human breast cancer cells assays. Surprisingly, no inhibition-binding experiments to steroid receptors on healthy human tissue have been performed so far. Our study provides inhibition binding experiments to oestrogens, progesterone, testosterone and retinoic acid receptors in prostate and uterine human tissue of organochlorine pesticides, phthalate esters, oestrogenic constituents derived from plants and phenol derivates. Affinities of significant extent of phthalates on oestrogenic, progestinic and androgenic receptors have not been detected. As for retinoic acid receptors, mono(2-ethylexyl)phthalate provokes a notable reduction of the binding of the tritiated retinoic acid, phtalic acid ethyl-n-butyl ester and 4-octylphenol show an affinity comparable to that of isoflavonoid genistein, whereas 4-nonylphenol reduces the binding of retinoic acid in prostate.