Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40147140›Full record

ArticleEnvironment international2025

Nuclear hormone receptors control fundamental processes of human fetal neurodevelopment: Basis for endocrine disruption assessment.

Katharina Koch, Kevin Schlüppmann, Saskia Hüsken, Louisa Merit Stark, Nils Förster, Stefan Masjosthusmann, Jördis Klose, Arif Dönmez, Ellen Fritsche

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Environment international, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Katharina KochIUF - Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Duesseldorf, Germany; DNTOX GmbH, Duesseldorf, Germany. Electronic address: katharina.koch@iuf-duesseldorf.de.
Kevin SchlüppmannIUF - Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Duesseldorf, Germany.
Saskia HüskenIUF - Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Duesseldorf, Germany.
Louisa Merit StarkIUF - Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Duesseldorf, Germany.
Nils FörsterBioinformatics Group, Faculty for Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany; Center for Protein Diagnostics (ProDi), Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Stefan MasjosthusmannIUF - Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Duesseldorf, Germany.
Jördis KloseIUF - Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Duesseldorf, Germany; DNTOX GmbH, Duesseldorf, Germany.
Arif DönmezIUF - Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Duesseldorf, Germany; DNTOX GmbH, Duesseldorf, Germany.
Ellen FritscheIUF - Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Duesseldorf, Germany; DNTOX GmbH, Duesseldorf, Germany; Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany; SCAHT - Swiss Centre for Applied Human Toxicology, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

Funding

Developmental Neurotoxicity Health Effects Innovation Research ProgramZIAES103387 · NIEHS · NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES · PI MCPHERSON, CHRISTOPHER ANTHONY · 2022 to 2025
$5.2M
Intramural NIH HHS ZIA ES103387
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Despite growing awareness of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), knowledge gaps remain regarding their effects on human brain development. EDC risk assessment focuses primarily on EATS modalities (estrogens, androgens, thyroid hormones, and steroidogenesis), overlooking the broader range of hormone receptors expressed in the developing brain. This limits the evaluation of chemicals for their potential to cause endocrine disruption-mediated developmental neurotoxicity (ED-DNT). The Neurosphere Assay, an in vitro test method for developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) evaluation, is an integral component of the DNT in vitro testing battery, which has been used to screen a broad domain of environmental chemicals. Here, we define the endocrine-related applicability domain of the Neurosphere Assay by assessing the impact and specificity of 14 hormone receptors on seven key neurodevelopmental processes (KNDPs), neural progenitor cell (NPC) proliferation, migration of radial glia, neurons, and oligodendrocytes, neurite outgrowth, and differentiation of neurons and oligodendrocytes. Comparative analyses in human and rat NPCs of both sexes revealed species- and sex-specific responses. Mechanistic insights were obtained through RNA sequencing and agonist/antagonist co-exposures. Most receptor agonists modulated KNDPs at concentrations in the range of physiologically relevant hormone concentrations. Phenotypic effects induced by glucocorticoid receptor (GR), liver X receptor (LXR), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor beta/delta (PPARβδ), retinoic acid receptor (RAR) and retinoid X receptor (RXR) activation were counteracted by receptor antagonists, confirming specificity. Transcriptomics highlighted receptor crosstalk and the involvement of conserved developmental pathways (e.g. Notch and Wnt). Species comparisons identified limited concordance in hormone receptor-regulated KNDPs between human and rat NPCs. This study presents novel findings on cellular and molecular hormone actions in human fetal NPCs, highlights major species differences, and illustrates the Neurosphere Assay's relevance for detecting endocrine MoAs, supporting its application in human-based ED-DNT risk assessment.

Indexed as

Endocrine DisruptorsReceptors, Cytoplasmic and NuclearAnimalsFemaleHumansMaleNeural Stem CellsRatsEndocrine DisruptorsReceptors, Cytoplasmic and NuclearDevelopmental neurotoxicityEDCEndocrine disruptionNeural progenitor cellsNeuronsNew approach methodologiesOligodendrocytes

Identifiers

PMID40147140
PMCPMC12127433

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.