Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Linked to Hormonal and Metabolic Disorders, Research Shows

Strategic Insights -

Recent research in Tamil Nadu, India, has shed light on the effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on human health. The study, conducted by researchers at the Vellore Institute of Technology, has found that EDCs play a crucial role in causing hormonal and metabolic disorders. The analysis, which utilized in silico approaches, examined the potential of EDCs in inducing hormone-sensitive cancers (HSCs), including breast cancer, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, and prostate cancer.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study analyzed the potential of EDCs-inducing hormone-sensitive cancers through in silico approaches, revealing a network of hub proteins and clusters that play a crucial role in carcinogenesis, metabolic regulation, and signaling pathways.
  • Enrichment analysis between the clusters and individual EDCs found that most pathways were related to chemical carcinogenesis, metabolic regulation, and signaling pathways.
  • The toxicokinetic analysis found seven EDCs with systemic toxic availability and carcinogenicity, highlighting the importance of avoiding products containing EDCs.
  • The research concluded that the study reveals the potential molecular mechanisms involved between the EDCs and the proteins IL6, PTGS2, and TNF in causing cancer.
  • The study suggests that IL6, PTGS2, and TNF are differentially expressed in various types of cancer and have a significant number of correlated genes.
  • The final validation derived from comparing gene ontologies of the EDCs with the clusters found pathways associated with carcinogenesis, cancer progression, and metabolic regulation.
  • The research has implications for public health, as it highlights the need to avoid products containing EDCs and to develop strategies for mitigating their effects.
  • The study received financial support from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and was published in a peer-reviewed journal, the Journal of Computational Biophysics and Chemistry.
  • The research was conducted by Anand Anbarasu and his team at the Vellore Institute of Technology.

Statistics:

  • 7 hub proteins (IL6, TP53, EGFR, TNF, JUN, IL1B, and PTGS2) were identified in the network analysis.
  • 4 clusters (C1, C2, C3, and C4) were found in the enrichment analysis between the clusters and individual EDCs.
  • 7 EDCs with systemic toxic availability and carcinogenicity were identified in the toxicokinetic analysis.
  • IL6 was differentially expressed in breast cancer and ovarian cancer; PTGS2 was differentially expressed in breast cancer and prostate cancer; TNF was differentially expressed in breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and endometrial cancer.

Sources:

  • NewsRx. Research Conducted at Vellore Institute of Technology Has Provided New Information about Cancer (Machine Learning-enabled Network Biology Analysis for Biomarker Discovery: Uncovering Molecular Interactions Between Endocrine-disrupting Chemicals ...). Health & Medicine Week. August 8, 2025; p 3881.
  • Machine Learning-enabled Network Biology Analysis for Biomarker Discovery: Uncovering Molecular Interactions Between Endocrine-disrupting Chemicals and Hormone-sensitive Cancers. Journal of Computational Biophysics and Chemistry, 2025.