RESEARCH ARTICLE
Epigenetic Reprogramming in the Mammalian Germ Line: Possible Effects by Endocrine Disruptors on Primordial Germ Cells
Massimo De Felici*, Gina La Sala
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2016Volume: 10
Issue: Suppl-1, M4
First Page: 36
Last Page: 41
Publisher ID: TOBIOTJ-10-36
DOI: 10.2174/1874070701610010036
Article History:
Received Date: 2/6/2014Revision Received Date: 15/5/2015
Acceptance Date: 5/6/2015
Electronic publication date: 31/03/2016
Collection year: 2016

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International Public License (CC BY-NC 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode), which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
The present work provides a brief review about evidence obtained in the past years mainly in our laboratory using the mouse model, that germ cells and gonadal somatic cells may be direct target of endocrine disruptors (EDs) from very early stages of gonad formation. Since it is now known that epigenetic pathways are crucial for germline development and that EDs are also able to interfere with epigenetic mechanisms, we will discuss these results mostly in light of possible effects by such molecules on the epigenoma of the primordial germ cells (PGCs), the precursors of the adult gametes that transmit genetic information between generations.