US EPA

3688561 

Journal Article 

Review 

Epigenetic impacts of endocrine disruptors in the brain 

Walker, DM; Gore, AC 

2017 

Yes 

Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology
ISSN: 0091-3022 

Academic Press Inc. 

SAN DIEGO 

44 

1-26 

English 

27663243 

10.1016/j.yfrne.2016.09.002 

WOS:000392254300001 

The acquisition of reproductive competence is organized and activated by steroid hormones acting upon the hypothalamus during critical windows of development. This review describes the potential role of epigenetic processes, particularly DNA methylation, in the regulation of sexual differentiation of the hypothalamus by hormones. We examine disruption of these processes by endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in an age-, sex-, and region-specific manner, focusing on how perinatal EDCs act through epigenetic mechanisms to reprogram DNA methylation and sex steroid hormone receptor expression throughout life. These receptors are necessary for brain sexual differentiation and their altered expression may underlie disrupted reproductive physiology and behavior. Finally, we review the literature on histone modifications and non-coding RNA involvement in brain sexual differentiation and their perturbation by EDCs. By putting these data into a sex and developmental context we conclude that perinatal EDC exposure alters the developmental trajectory of reproductive neuroendocrine systems in a sex-specific manner. 

DNA methylation; Endocrine-disrupting chemicals; Epigenetics; Histone modifications; Hypothalamus; Sex differences; Steroid hormone receptors