[Nuclear steroid hormone receptors as possible target molecule for endocrine disruptant]

Endocrine disruptant is supposed to act as a ligand to modulate a certain set of receptors. One class of the candidate receptors is the nuclear receptor superfamily. This family compromises nearly hundred members in human including steroid/thyroid hormones, vitamin A and D, other fat-soluble compounds nuclear receptors, and a subfamily of orphan receptors, whose ligands have not yet been identified. The nuclear receptors regulate transcription of target genes as ligand-inducible transcription factors. In this review, the functions of nuclear receptors are described in terms of transcriptional controls, and a possible target molecule for endocrine disruptants is discussed.