Di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (DEHP) is a compound widely used as a plasticizer, which can leach from plastics into the environment and thus influence human health. The aim of this study was to analyze whether exposure to an environmentally relevant dose of DEHP during mice fetal development or puberty can cause long-lasting changes detectable month/s after the last exposure. We used a DEHP concentration relevant to a daily human intake of 2.4–3 μg/kg of body weight/day. CD1 outbred mice were treated either in utero or postnatally during puberty and analyzed in adulthood. Analyzing fertility parameters using morphometric, histologic, genomic and proteomic methods we showed that DEHP exposure leads to decreased sperm concentration and quality, in both experimental groups. Moreover, the changes in anogenital distance, seminal vesicle weight, and testicular gene expression suggest a disturbance of androgen signaling in exposed animals. In conclusion, we hereby present, that the prenatal and pubertal exposure to a low dose of DEHP negatively influenced reproductive endpoints in male mice, and some of the effects were persistent until adulthood.

二-(2-乙基己基)-邻苯二甲酸酯 (DEHP) 是一种广泛用作增塑剂的化合物，它可以从塑料中浸出到环境中，从而影响人类健康。本研究的目的是分析在小鼠胎儿发育或青春期期间暴露于环境相关剂量的 DEHP 是否会导致最后一次暴露后几个月/秒可检测到的持久变化。我们使用了与人类每日摄入量 2.4-3 μg/kg 体重/天相关的 DEHP 浓度。CD1 远交小鼠在子宫内接受治疗或在青春期出生后并在成年期进行分析。使用形态学、组织学、基因组学和蛋白质组学方法分析生育参数，我们发现在两个实验组中，DEHP 暴露会导致精子浓度和质量下降。此外，肛门生殖器距离、精囊重量和睾丸基因表达的变化表明暴露动物的雄激素信号传导受到干扰。总之，我们在此提出，产前和青春期暴露于低剂量的 DEHP 会对雄性小鼠的生殖终点产生负面影响，其中一些影响一直持续到成年。