Endocrine disrupting and carcinogenic effects of decabromodiphenyl ether

Yi Wang; Xinpei Wang; Shaofeng Sui; Zhiyan Liu

doi:10.3389/fendo.2023.1183815

Endocrine disrupting and carcinogenic effects of decabromodiphenyl ether

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023 Jun 2:14:1183815. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1183815. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yi Wang¹, Xinpei Wang^{1

2}, Shaofeng Sui³, Zhiyan Liu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pathology, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
² The Key Laboratory of Experimental Teratology, Ministry of Education and Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
³ Department of Environmental Health, Division of Health Risk Factors Monitoring and Control, Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Health Impact Assessment of Emerging Contaminants, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Background: Decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE209), an essential industrial flame retardant that is widely used, has recently been reported to be increasing in human serum. Due to the structural similarity between BDE209 and thyroid hormones, its toxic effects on the thyroid are of particular concern.

Methods: Original articles in the PubMed database were collected using the terms "BDE209", "decabromodiphenyl ether", "endocrine disrupting", "thyroid", "carcinogenesis", "polybrominated diphenyl ethers", "PBDEs," and their synonyms from inception up to October of 2022.

Results: Of the 748 studies initially identified, 45 were selected, which emphasized the adverse effects of BDE209 on endocrine system. BDE209 may have a toxic effect not only on thyroid function but also on thyroid cancer tumorigenesis at multiple levels, such as by directly interfering with the TR, hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis, enzyme activity, and methylation. However, it is impossible to draw a definitive conclusion on the exact pathway of thyroid toxicity from BDE209.

Conclusions: Although the toxic effects of BDE209 on the thyroid have been well investigated, its tumorigenic effects remain unclear and further research is necessary.

Keywords: BDE209; carcinogenesis; endocrine disrupting; environmental exposure; thyroid hormone.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Flame Retardants* / toxicity
Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / toxicity
Humans
Thyroid Gland / metabolism
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / metabolism

Substances

Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers
Flame Retardants
Water Pollutants, Chemical

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 81972500), the Science and Technology Innovation Plan of Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (STCSM) (Grant no. 20Z11900304), the Natural Science Fund of the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (STCSM) (Grant no. 23ZR1448200), and the Clinical Research Fund of Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People’s Hospital (ZL 2020).