They Came from the Dust: Indoor Endocrine Disruptors and Thyroid-Hormone Binding

Description

House dust can contain complex mixtures of endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs),^1,2 which can interfere with the synthesis, transport, or actions of thyroid hormones, including thyroxine (T4).^2,3 In a recent study published in Environmental Health Perspectives,¹ researchers assessed the ability of house dust contaminant mixtures to interfere with T₄ binding to transthyretin (TTR), a protein involved in transporting the hormone to target tissues. Extrapolating in vitro results to in vivo binding potencies, the researchers estimated a slight but potentially meaningful decrease in T4 binding due to contaminant mixtures.