Chemical Exposure Causing Early Puberty In Girls
New research published in Endocrinology suggests early puberty in girls linked to endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
Puberty is undoubtedly an integral part of a teen’s life, marking both physical and psychological transitions in a young person’s life. Endocrinology, a peer-reviewed journal of the Endocrine Society, recently published new research that indicates that exposure to some chemicals may be contributing to early puberty in girls.
Co-authored by Natalie Shaw, M.D., MMSc., of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Menghang Xia, Ph.D., at the National Center for Advancing Transnational Sciences (NCATS), which is part of NIH, in Bethesda, Md., the study is also based on research by Shu Yang, Li Zhang, Jameson Travers, Ruili Huang, Vukasin Jovanovic, Rithvik Veeramacheni, Srilatha Sakamuru, Carlos Tristan, Carleen Klumpp Thomas and Anton Simeonov of NCATS; Kamal Khan and Erica Davis of Northwestern University in Chicago; and Kristine Witt of the NIEHS Translational Toxicology Division.
Early puberty often leads to a higher risk of breast cancer, obesity, diabetes, heart disease and psychological problems. This study focuses on how certain endocrine- disrupting chemicals (EDCs) obstruct or interact with hormones in the body. Said co-author Shaw, “We conducted a comprehensive screen of 10,000 environmental compounds with extensive follow-up studies using human brain cells that control the reproductive axis, and our team identified several substances that may contribute to early puberty in girls.”
The research team discovered musk ambrette, a fragrance found in perfumes and personal care products, to be potentially concerning. Recognizing the risk of this fragrance, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken it off its “generally recognized safe” list. Similarly, FDA counterparts in Canada (Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency) and Europe (the European Medicines Agency and European Food Safety Authority) restrict its use because of its possible risks. However, the product is still available in some personal-care products.
“This study suggests that, out of an abundance of caution, it is important for parents to only use personal care products for their children that are federally regulated,” Shaw said. She further pointed out, “More research is needed to confirm our findings […] But the ability of these compounds to stimulate key receptors in the hypothalamus — the gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor [GnRHR] and the kisspeptin receptor [KISS1R] — raises the possibility that exposure may prematurely activate the reproductive axis in children.”
Using a human cell line that over expressed GnRHR or KISS1R, the research team tested a 10,000-compound library of approved medications, environmental pollutants and nutritional supplements using Tox21. Following up with zebrafish and human hypothalamic neurons, they discovered that musk ambrette boosted the quantity and expression of GnRH neurons.
“Using human hypothalamic neurons and zebrafish provides an effective model for identifying environmental substances that stimulate the KISS1R and GnRHR,” said co- author Xia.
She added, “This study was a multidisciplinary team effort, and it showed that we can efficiently reduce the time and cost of assessing environmental chemicals for their potential effects on human health.”
The study, “Identification of Environmental Compounds That May Trigger Early Female Puberty by Activating Human GnRHR and KISS1R,” was released online before it was published in Endocrinology.
