title: Direct action of endocrine disrupting chemicals on human sperm.
abstract: Synthetic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), omnipresent in food, household, and personal care products, have been implicated in adverse trends in human reproduction, including infertility and increasing demand for assisted reproduction. Here, we study the action of 96 ubiquitous EDCs on human sperm. We show that structurally diverse EDCs activate the sperm-specific CatSper channel and, thereby, evoke an intracellular Ca(2+) increase, a motility response, and acrosomal exocytosis. Moreover, EDCs desensitize sperm for physiological CatSper ligands and cooperate in low-dose mixtures to elevate Ca(2+) levels in sperm. We conclude that EDCs interfere with various sperm functions and, thereby, might impair human fertilization.
authors.affiliation: Center of Advanced European Studies and Research, Abteilung Molekulare Neurosensorik, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schiffer
authors.affiliation: Center of Advanced European Studies and Research, Abteilung Molekulare Neurosensorik, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Department of Growth and Reproduction, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Denmark.
authors.forename: Dorte L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Egeberg
authors.affiliation: Center of Advanced European Studies and Research, Abteilung Molekulare Neurosensorik, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.affiliation: Center of Advanced European Studies and Research, Abteilung Molekulare Neurosensorik, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brenker
authors.affiliation: Department of Growth and Reproduction, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Denmark.
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rehfeld
authors.affiliation: Department of Growth and Reproduction, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Denmark.
authors.forename: Hanne
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Frederiksen
authors.affiliation: Center of Advanced European Studies and Research, Abteilung Molekulare Neurosensorik, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wäschle
authors.affiliation: Center of Advanced European Studies and Research, Abteilung Molekulare Neurosensorik, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: U Benjamin
authors.initials: UB
authors.lastname: Kaupp
authors.affiliation: Center of Advanced European Studies and Research, Abteilung Molekulare Neurosensorik, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Balbach
authors.affiliation: Center of Advanced European Studies and Research, Abteilung Molekulare Neurosensorik, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Dagmar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wachten
authors.affiliation: Department of Growth and Reproduction, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Denmark nes@rh.dk timo.struenker@caesar.de.
authors.forename: Niels E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Skakkebaek
authors.affiliation: Department of Growth and Reproduction, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Denmark.
authors.forename: Kristian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Almstrup
authors.affiliation: Center of Advanced European Studies and Research, Abteilung Molekulare Neurosensorik, Bonn, Germany nes@rh.dk timo.struenker@caesar.de.
authors.forename: Timo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Strünker
mesh_terms: D000177:Acrosome / Q000378:metabolism; D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D001667:Binding, Competitive; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000378:metabolism; D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000187:drug effects; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005089:Exocytosis / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008024:Ligands; D008297:Male; D011485:Protein Binding; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000187:drug effects; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D015220:Calcium Channels; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D008024:Ligands; D002118:Calcium
keywords: Ca2+ signalling; CatSper; endocrine disrupting chemical; human sperm