title: The adverse effects of low-dose exposure to Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate during adolescence on sperm function in adult rats.
abstract: Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is the most crucial phthalate derivative added to polyvinyl chloride as a plasticizer. This study examined the effects of low-dose exposure to DEHP during adolescence on sperm function in adult rats. The male rats were daily gavaged with 30, 100, 300, and 1000 µg kg(-1) of DEHP or corn oil from postnatal day (PND) 42 until PND 105. The selection of DEHP doses ranged from the mean daily intake by the normal-population exposure levels to no-observed-adverse-effect level of DEHP for the endpoints evaluated until adulthood. Significant increases in the percentage of sperm with tail abnormality, tendency for sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI) and percentage of sperm with DFI were found in those exposed to 100, 300, and 1000 µg kg(-1) (P < 0.05). We observed a significant increase of hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) generation in the sperm of the 1000 µg kg(-1) group compared with the control group (P < 0.05). The excessive production of sperm H2 O2 coincided with an increase in sperm DFI. In this study, the lowest-observed-adverse-effect level for sperm toxicity was considered to be 100 µg DEHP/kg/day in sperm morphology and chromatin DNA damage. Further research is necessary to clarify the mechanisms of DEHP-related sperm ROS generation on sperm DNA damage. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 31: 706-712, 2016.
authors.affiliation: Department of Safety, Health, and Environmental Engineering, National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ping-Chi
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Safety, Health, and Environmental Engineering, National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ya-Ting
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, National Taiwan University and NTU Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yueliang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Leon Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Safety, Health, and Environmental Engineering, National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jenq-Renn
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shinn-Shyong
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Emerging Compounds Research Center, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: How-Ran
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences and Technology, National University of Tainan, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yen-Ni
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: Teng
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Science and Technology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Min-Hsiung
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Pan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004051:Diethylhexyl Phthalate / Q000633:toxicity*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D008297:Male; D019055:No-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level; D010968:Plasticizers / Q000633:toxicity*; D051381:Rats / Q000254:growth & development; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010968:Plasticizers; D004051:Diethylhexyl Phthalate
keywords: adolescence; di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate; low-dose exposure; sperm chromatin DNA damage; sperm function