Silva Antero Vieira, Tarvainen Ilari, Öberg Mattias, Laws Mary, Hannon Patrick, Flaws Jodi, Damdimopoulou Pauliina
Unit of Integrative Toxicology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 171 65, Sweden.
Department of Women's and Children's Health, BioMedicum, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 171 65, Sweden.
Toxicol Sci. 2025 Jul 1;206(1):30-45. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfaf052.
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) pose significant risks to human reproductive health. However, regulatory frameworks often lack sufficient data on sensitive female-specific reproductive endpoints. This study investigates the sensitivity of hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis endpoints to DEHP exposure in adult female mice, applying Bayesian Benchmark dose (BBMD) modeling for dose-response assessment and derivation of points-of-departure (PODs) for risk assessment. Data from four studies where sexually mature female mice were exposed to DEHP (0.02 to 240 mg/kg bw/d) for 10 or 30 d via oral administration, or 30 d via diet, was modeled. Endpoints included ovarian follicle counts, serum hormones, estrous cyclicity, body, and organ weights. Results revealed dose-dependent changes and greater sensitivity of progesterone, ovarian follicle counts, and uterine weight, compared with estrous cyclicity, body weight, and other organ weights. For 10- and 30-d oral administration studies, the lowest nonzero BBMDLs were observed for serum progesterone levels (9.1 mg/kg bw/d) and primary follicle counts (19.5 mg/kg bw/d), respectively. These PODs were notably lower than most No-Adverse-Effect-Levels in the European Chemicals Agency's (ECHA's) "Registered substances factsheet" and "ECHA CHEM" databases. The majority of the studies derived PODs based on male (reproductive) endpoints. Finally, a derived no-effect level of 0.064 mg DEHP/kg bw/d was estimated, based on the overall lowest BBMDL, serum progesterone levels of the 10-d oral study. In conclusion, our study indicates that current guidelines may not fully capture reproductive risks for females, underscoring the need to refine regulatory endpoints to better protect female reproductive health in the context of DEHP exposure.
邻苯二甲酸二(2-乙基己基)酯(DEHP)等内分泌干扰化学物质对人类生殖健康构成重大风险。然而,监管框架往往缺乏关于女性特异性敏感生殖终点的充分数据。本研究调查成年雌性小鼠下丘脑-垂体-卵巢(HPO)轴终点对DEHP暴露的敏感性,应用贝叶斯基准剂量(BBMD)模型进行剂量反应评估,并推导用于风险评估的出发点(POD)。对四项研究的数据进行了建模,这些研究中,性成熟雌性小鼠通过口服给药10或30天、或通过饮食给药30天暴露于DEHP(0.02至240mg/kg体重/天)。终点包括卵巢卵泡计数、血清激素、发情周期、体重和器官重量。结果显示出剂量依赖性变化,与发情周期、体重和其他器官重量相比,孕酮、卵巢卵泡计数和子宫重量的敏感性更高。对于10天和30天口服给药研究,血清孕酮水平(9.1mg/kg体重/天)和初级卵泡计数(19.5mg/kg体重/天)分别观察到最低非零BBMDL值。这些POD显著低于欧洲化学品管理局(ECHA)“注册物质概况介绍”和“ECHA CHEM”数据库中的大多数无不良反应水平。大多数研究基于雄性(生殖)终点推导POD。最后,根据总体最低BBMDL、10天口服研究的血清孕酮水平,估计得出无效应水平为0.064mg DEHP/kg体重/天。总之,我们的研究表明,当前指南可能无法充分涵盖女性的生殖风险,强调需要完善监管终点,以便在DEHP暴露情况下更好地保护女性生殖健康。