About this Research Topic

Background

Daily use of plastics, related additives, and contaminants of emerging concern is a consequence of industrialization and scientific advancement. The chemicals used in plastic production are released in the environment as are plastic debris in the micro- and nano-range; some of these bioaccumulate in biological tissues and biomagnify in food chains, and many pose harm to health by altering endocrine functions or other biological mechanisms. Ultimately, these endocrine-disrupting chemicals exert long-time pleiotropic effects. Living organisms, including humans, are inevitably exposed by contact, ingestion or inhalation of these ubiquitously distributed environmental toxicants. Compounds like bisphenol A (BPA) and its analogues (BPS, BPF, BPAF), bis-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl-phthalate (DBP), per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFOS and PFAS) among others are commonly used for the production of daily use goods including food and drink packaging. These chemicals are released from these products and enter into both the environment and living organisms, thus posing ecotoxicological and health risks.

Reproduction, fertility, and development represent important targets of environmental toxicants, with different outcomes on health depending on dose, timing of exposure, mode of administration, and timing of evaluation. Gametogenesis and gamete quality, embryo development and pregnancy, pre- and post-natal developmental processes are highly sensitive to plastic-derived endocrine-disrupting compounds. Oxidative stress and tissue damage, poor gamete quality, low fertility rate and developmental abnormalities are some of the consequences of direct and in utero exposure to these compounds. Of note, the effects of reproductive toxicant exposures fall on both exposed subjects and related offspring through different mechanisms, including epigenetic alterations and the possibility of trans-generational epigenetic inheritance. While the effects in the exposed adults are often, but not always, transient, the embryonic, fetal and perinatal periods are critical exposure windows. In fact, gametogenesis and gamete quality, developmental programming processes and growth are highly susceptible to environmental cues, with long-term consequences for fertility rate, placentation, feto-placental development, embryo growth and health, and possible disease load in adult life.

Although data from human cohorts are still quite limited, a large body of experimental evidence in animal models and cell lines supports the conclusion that many endocrine disrupting chemicals used in plastics are reproductive or developmental toxicants. This suggests the need for further studies in disciplines dedicated to studying endocrine disruptors, but also the development of safer alternatives to preserve reproduction, fertility and health in human.

Therefore, this Research Topic in Frontiers in Toxicology, section Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology, aims to publish work being conducted at the forefront of the field. Experimental studies in in vitro and in vivo models, Review articles, clinical and epidemiological studies, Methods, and Perspectives are all welcome for consideration.

The Research Topic includes but is not limited to the following topics:

-Plasticizer-dependent impairment of reproduction in laboratory models and wild species;
-Plasticizer-dependent effects on gamete quality, placentation, offspring development and health;
-The consequences of early life exposures to plastic-derived endocrine-disrupting compounds on adult life;
-Molecular and epigenetic mechanisms of plastic-derived endocrine-disrupting compounds
-Epidemiology studies of plastic derived compounds;
-Exposure assessment methods for the evaluation of micro- or nano-plastics.

Keywords: Low dose effects, endocrine disruptor, environmental chemicals, microplastics, nanoplastics

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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