71st Congress of the Italian Embryological Group-Italian Society of Development and Cell Biology (GEI-SIBSC)
Vol. 70 No. s1 (2026)
https://doi.org/10.4081/ejh.2026.4661

43 | OVERVIEW OF EFFECTS OF ENDOCRINE-DISRUPTING CHEMICALS (EDCS) ON THE MORPHOPHYSIOLOGY OF THE THYROID GLAND IN REPTILES: EVIDENCE FROM LACERTIDE PODARCIS SICULUS

Assunta Lallo1, Francesca Carrella1, Roberta Imperatore1, Benedetta Sangarella Valvano4, Maria De Falcob3, Rosaria Sciarrillo1 | 1Department of Science and Technologies, University of Sannio, Benevento, Italy; 2Department of Biology, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy; 3National Institute of Biostructures and Biosystems (INBB), Rome, Italy; 4Dept. of Medicine and Health Sciences “Vincenzo Tiberio”, University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy

Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Published: 22 June 2026
0
Views
0
Downloads

Authors

GEI - SOCIETÀ ITALIANA DI BIOLOGIA DELLO SVILUPPO E DELLA CELLULA
geisibscbari.dbba@uniba.it
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have emerged as a significant threat to hormonal homeostasis in vertebrates, interfering with the synthesis, secretion, and metabolism of thyroid hormones (TH). Since these compounds are ubiquitously distributed across all environmental matrices, this review aims to consolidate current knowledge regarding their impact on the thyroid gland in reptiles, with a specific focus on the lizard Podarcis sicula as a sentinel species for ecotoxicological assessment.
Exposure to EDCs, including resorcinol, nonylphenol, octylphenol, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), has been shown to induce marked morphological and functional alterations within the thyroid gland. Observed effects include changes in the follicular epithelium and colloid content, coupled with significant fluctuations in plasma levels of T3, T4, TSH, and TRH. Furthermore, as the liver plays a pivotal role in thyroid homeostasis by serving as the primary site for the peripheral activation of T4 into T3, EDCs can further disrupt this balance by altering hepatic 5′-ORD activity and modifying the intrahepatic T3 and T4 content.
Together, these findings demonstrate a profound disruption of the hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid (HPT) axis and peripheral metabolism. Overall, the data confirm the high sensitivity of the thyroid system to chemical stressors and validate P. sicula as a robust model for comparative ecotoxicology.
Kew words: Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals; Ecotoxicology; Thyroid gland; Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Thyroid axis; Reptiles.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

How to Cite



1.
DELLO SVILUPPO E DELLA CELLULA G-SIDB. 43 | OVERVIEW OF EFFECTS OF ENDOCRINE-DISRUPTING CHEMICALS (EDCS) ON THE MORPHOPHYSIOLOGY OF THE THYROID GLAND IN REPTILES: EVIDENCE FROM LACERTIDE PODARCIS SICULUS: Assunta Lallo1, Francesca Carrella1, Roberta Imperatore1, Benedetta Sangarella Valvano4, Maria De Falcob3, Rosaria Sciarrillo1 | 1Department of Science and Technologies, University of Sannio, Benevento, Italy; 2Department of Biology, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy; 3National Institute of Biostructures and Biosystems (INBB), Rome, Italy; 4Dept. of Medicine and Health Sciences “Vincenzo Tiberio”, University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy. Eur J Histochem [Internet]. 2026 Jun. 22 [cited 2026 Jun. 23];70(s1). Available from: https://www.ejh.it/ejh/article/view/4661
Copyright (c) 2026 The Author(s) Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.