有毒物质低剂量刺激作用的研究进展

ADVANCES IN STUDY OF HORMESIS

有毒物质低剂量刺激作用 (hormesis)是一个有争议的毒理学问题。本文综述了 hormesis的研究进展、关键学术问题以及可能的作用机制 ,并对有关 hormesis的机理研究与环境内分泌干扰物研究和风险评价理论及方法之间的关系进行了讨论 ,提出了其中存在的关键科学问题和可能的研究方向。

This paper aims to present the latest research advances on the research of hormesis by stressing the major scientific disputes and mechanistic consideration on the 'overcompensation' and 'overcorrection' theories. As is known, there have been so far existing a lot of controversial discussions on the stimulation effects below intoxicating threshold of a toxic substance, or hormesis in toxicology. In that case, stimulation is generally described as detrimental by low doses of a chemical or even lethal at high doses, for its generality and harmful effect remains unknown or ambiguous. Therefore, the effect of hormetic dose-response relationship has never received serious consideration in the mainstream of toxicological study. However, evidence on the harmful hormesis has now extended into many fields, including not only the toxicology, but also pathology and risk assessment. And in turn a lot of “U” and “?” shapes of dose-response relationships are observed and detected in the study on the environmental endocrine disruptors (EEDs). Thus, it can be certain that the study on interpreting their mechanisms will be speeded up to find hormesis and its environmental endocrine disruptors (EEDs), which may well include the study of the implication of hormesis and its likely profound influence on the current testing protocols for drugs and industrial chemicals and risk-assessment methods. In this end, this paper has given a detailed review on the latest research advances on hormesis study, including the discussion on hormesis involving the recent hotpot studies of environmental endocrine disruptors (EEDs), health risk assessment (HRA) and ecological risk assessment (ERA), with respect to the development of theory and methodology. And finally, key issues and orientation of research work are also illustrated and proposed.