Abstract

Cell structure and function depends on the synthesis of a number of proteins, such as structural proteins, enzymes, hormone and neurotransmitter receptors, and regulating proteins, among others. These proteins are synthesized following inherited genetic information coded in the genome, and change at the various stages of the differentiation of the cells through the ontogenic development. The above process can be selectively modulated by cell environment, mainly hormonal. During precise and critical stages of the ontogenic development (which are specific for each celltype), cells define and program quantity and quality of their hormone receptors, needed for the optimal regulation of their function and their homeostatic adaptation to environmental variations, that lasts for all the host individual life. This process was named imprinting or cell programming. If, during this critical period of cell development, any of these cell-types is exposed to abnormal hormone concentrations or to other chemical agents (i.e., pharmaceuticals, food additives, natural components of some foods, various polluting agents), this program is altered and leads to irreversible qualitative and/or quantitative changes in specific proteins, especially hormone or neurotransmitter receptors. This will originate persistent alterations in the regulation of affected cells function, which usually persist through life, and are the basis for the development of various diseases later in life.