Endocrine disruptors
Environmental chemicals (pesticides, flame retardants, etc…) may compromise brain development if they interfere with TH signaling. Although toxicology is currently testing the capacity of these chemicals to alter TH homeostasis, the possibility that the cellular sensitivity to TH is altered may be overlooked.
Our group has developed original in vitro assays to address the capacity of xenobiotics to act as TRs antagonists and agonists in neural cells. The main emphasis in on RNAseq analysis of exposed cells, which provides an unbiased genome-wide view of xenobiotic influence on the cell physiology. This method allows a precise assessment the cell sensitivity to TH stimulation, with outstanding statistical power.