Dietary exposure to di-isobutyl phthalate increases urinary 5-methyl-2′-deoxycytidine level and affects reproductive function in adult male mice

Phthalates are a large family of ubiquitous environmental pollutants suspected of being endocrine disruptors. Epidemiological studies have associated phthalate metabolites with decreased reproductive parameters and linked phthalate exposure with the level of urinary 5-methyl-2′-deoxycytidine（5mdC, a product of methylated DNA）. In this study, adult male mice were exposed to 450 mg di-isobutyl phthalate（DiBP）/（kg·day） via dietary exposure for 28 days. Mono-isobutyl phthalate（Mi BP, the urinary metabolite） and reproductive function parameters were determined. The levels of 5mdC and 5-hydroxymethyl-2′-deoxycytidine（5hmdC） were measured in urine to evaluate if their contents were also altered by DiBP exposure in this animal model. Results showed that DiBP exposure led to a significant increase in the urinary 5mdC level and significant decreases in sperm concentration and motility in the epididymis, accompanied with reduced testosterone levels and downregulation of the P450 cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme（P450scc） gene in the mice testes. Our findings indicated that exposure to DiBP increased the urinary 5mdC levels,which supported our recent epidemiological study about the associations of urinary 5mdC with phthalate exposure in the male human population. In addition, DiBP exposure impaired male reproductive function, possibly by disturbing testosterone levels; P450scc might be a major steroidogenic enzyme targeted by DiBP or other phthalates.

Inhibition effects of perfluoroalkyl acids on progesterone production in mLTC-1

Perfluoroalkyl substances （PFASs） are a class of fluorine substituted carboxylic acid, sulfonic acid and alcohol, structurally similar to their corresponding parent compounds. Previous study demonstrated the potential endocrine disruption and reproductive toxicity of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and perfluorooctanoic acid, two dominant PFASs in animals and humans. We explored the relationship between eleven perfluoroalkyl acids （PFAAs） with different carbon chain length and their ability to inhibit progesterone production in mouse Leydig tumor cells （mLTC-1）. We found an obvious dose-response relationship between progesterone inhibition rate and PFAA exposure concentration in mLTC-1. The relative inhibition rate of progesterone by PFAAs was linearly related to the carbon chain length and molar refractivity of PFAAs. Mitochondrial membrane potential （MMP） decreased after PFAA exposure at the half-maximal inhibitory effect concentration （IC50） of progesterone production in mLTC-1, while the reactive oxygen species （ROS） content increased significantly. These results imply that the inhibition effect of PFAAs on progesterone production might be due, in part, to ROS damage and the decrease in MMP in mLTC-1.