title: COMPRENDO: Focus and approach.
abstract: Tens of thousands of man-made chemicals are in regular use and discharged into the environment. Many of them are known to interfere with the hormonal systems in humans and wildlife. Given the complexity of endocrine systems, there are many ways in which endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can affect the body's signaling system, and this makes unraveling the mechanisms of action of these chemicals difficult. A major concern is that some of these EDCs appear to be biologically active at extremely low concentrations. There is growing evidence to indicate that the guiding principle of traditional toxicology that "the dose makes the poison" may not always be the case because some EDCs do not induce the classical dose-response relationships. The European Union project COMPRENDO (Comparative Research on Endocrine Disrupters--Phylogenetic Approach and Common Principles focussing on Androgenic/Antiandrogenic Compounds) therefore aims to develop an understanding of potential health problems posed by androgenic and antiandrogenic compounds (AACs) to wildlife and humans by focusing on the commonalities and differences in responses to AACs across the animal kingdom (from invertebrates to vertebrates) .
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolution, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Schulte-oehlmann@zoology.uni-frankfurt.de
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Schulte-Oehlmann
authors.forename: Triantafyllos
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Albanis
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Allera
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bachmann
authors.forename: Pia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Berntsson
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Beresford
authors.forename: Daniela Candia
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Carnevali
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ciceri
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dagnac
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Falandysz
authors.forename: Silvana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Galassi
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hala
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Janer
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jeannot
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jobling
authors.forename: Isabella
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Dietrich
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Klingmüller
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kloas
authors.forename: Kresten Ole
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Kusk
authors.forename: Ramon
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Levada
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.forename: Ilka
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lutz
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oehlmann
authors.forename: Stina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oredsson
authors.forename: Cinta
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Porte
authors.forename: Marian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rand-Weaver
authors.forename: Vasilis
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sakkas
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sugni
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tyler
authors.forename: Ronny
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: van Aerle
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: van Ballegoy
authors.forename: Leah
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wollenberger
mesh_terms: D000728:Androgens / Q000009:adverse effects; D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects; D000818:Animals; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000379:methods*; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D016678:Genome / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008386:Marine Biology; D008954:Models, Biological; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D000728:Androgens; D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors