Abstract
The liver is considered the laboratory of the human body because of its many metabolic processes. It accomplishes diverse activities as a mixed gland and is in continuous cross-talk with the endocrine system. Not only do hormones from the gastrointestinal tract that participate in digestion regulate the liver functions, but the sex hormones also exert a strong influence on this sexually dimorphic organ, via their receptors expressed in liver, in both health and disease. Besides, the liver modifies the actions of sex hormones through their metabolism and transport proteins. Given the anatomical position and physiological importance of liver, this organ is evidenced as an immune vigilante that mediates the systemic immune response, and, in turn, the immune system regulates the hepatic functions. Such feedback is performed by cytokines. Pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines are strongly involved in hepatic homeostasis and in pathological states; indeed, female sex hormones, oral contraceptives, and phytoestrogens have immunomodulatory effects in the liver and the whole organism. To analyze the complex and interesting beneficial or deleterious effects of these drugs by their immunomodulatory actions in the liver can provide the basis for either their pharmacological use in therapeutic treatments or to avoid their intake in some diseases.
Highlights
The liver is called the body’s biochemical laboratory because of the many metabolic functions that it accomplishes
The Kupffer cells release tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and IL-6. Increasing their serum levels contributes to the initiation of the cell cycle by binding to their receptors
E2-17G, EE, and P4 metabolites are called trans-inhibitors of the bile salt export pump (BSEP), since they exert their inhibitory effect on the transporter from the canalicular lumen, which causes a stagnation of toxic BAs into the hepatocytes as well as liver damage by inducing pro-inflammatory cytokines release, as commented above [104,117]
Summary
The liver is called the body’s biochemical laboratory because of the many metabolic functions that it accomplishes. The liver is the largest inner organ, with an average weight of 1.5 kg It is considered a mixed gland: Endocrine because of the insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) production (among other functional/transport/blood proteins), and exocrine because of the bile production [1,2]. The chemical structure of PE is diverse and includes flavonoids, isoflavonoids, lignans, coumestans, and stilbenes, which modulate estrogen receptor (ER) signaling pathways as well as estrogen functions and metabolism; PEs are considered endocrine disruptors because they may alter metabolism and the immune response, mainly in the liver, in the same ways that sex hormones, their metabolites, and OCs do [11,13]. The number of women taking these drugs is much higher than the number of men ingesting them, as commented above, men are exposed to endocrine disruptors from the environment
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