Reproductive toxicity and underlying mechanisms of di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate in nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

• 作者: Jingjing Li Man Qu Mei Wang Ying Yue Zhaofang Chen Ran Liu Yuanqing Bu Yunhui Li
• 来源期刊: 环境科学学报（英文版）
• 年，卷（期）: 2021,（7）
• 页码范围: 1-10
• 页数: 10页
• 语种: 英文

摘要

DEHP(di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate)is an endocrine disruptor commonly found in plastic products that has been associated with reproduction alterations,but the effect of DEHP on toxicity is still widely unknown.Using DEHP concentrations of 10,1,and 0.1 mg/L,we showed that DEHP reduced the reproductive capacity of Caenorhabditis elegans after 72 hr.of exposure.DEHP exposure reduced the reproductive capacity in terms of decreased brood sizes,egg hatchability(0.1,1 and 10 mg/L),and egg-laying rate(1 and 10 mg/L),and increased numbers of fertilized eggs in the uterus(1 and 10 mg/L).DEHP also caused damage to go-nad development.DEHP decreased the total number of germline cells,and decreased the relative area of the gonad arm of all exposure groups,with worms in the 1 mg/L DEHP expo-sure group having the minimum gonad arm area.Additionally,DEHP caused a significant concentration-dependent increase in the expression of unc-86.Autophagy and ROS con-tributed to the enhancement of DEHP toxicity in reducing reproductive capacity,and glu-tathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase were activated as the antioxidant defense in this study.Hence,we found that DEHP has a dual effect on nematodes.Higher concen-tration(10 mg/L)DEHP can inhibit the expression of autophagy genes(atg-18,atg-7,bec-1,lgg-1 and unc-51),and lower concentrations(0.1 and 1 mg/L)can promote the expression of autophagy genes.Our data highlight the potential environmental risk of DEHP in inducing reproductive toxicity toward the gonad development and reproductive capacity of environ-mental organisms.