Xu Linjie, Yan Jun, Yin Tingting, Pan Yingzi, Chen Min, Wang Xinyan, Wu Lan, Ding Hongjuan
Department of Obstetrics, Women's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing Women and Children's Healthcare Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China.
NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes. 2025 Jun 13;11(1):107. doi: 10.1038/s41522-025-00742-6.
Di (2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP), a widely used plasticizer and endocrine disruptor, poses risks to human health, particularly reproductive function. Using a mouse model, we investigated how DEHP exposure impacts the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis through gut microbiome disruption. DEHP decreased pregnancy rates by impairing ovarian function, activating hypothalamic astrocytes, and increasing neuregulin 1 (NRG1) expression. NRG1 binding to astrocyte ErbB2 receptors elevated prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), disrupting HPO axis homeostasis. Additionally, DEHP altered gut microbiota, destabilized microbial networks, and impacted β-glucuronidase-related taxa, leading to hormone fluctuations and reduced fertility. This study highlights gut microbiome perturbations as a novel mechanism linking DEHP exposure to reproductive dysfunction. Our study provides novel insights concerning perturbations of the gut microbiome and HPO axis and their functions as a potential new mechanism by which DEHP exposes interferes with the reproductive function-related human health.
邻苯二甲酸二(2-乙基己基)酯(DEHP)是一种广泛使用的增塑剂和内分泌干扰物,对人类健康构成风险,尤其是对生殖功能。我们使用小鼠模型研究了DEHP暴露如何通过破坏肠道微生物群来影响下丘脑-垂体-卵巢(HPO)轴。DEHP通过损害卵巢功能、激活下丘脑星形胶质细胞和增加神经调节蛋白1(NRG1)的表达来降低怀孕率。NRG1与星形胶质细胞ErbB2受体结合会升高前列腺素E2(PGE2)和促性腺激素释放激素(GnRH),从而破坏HPO轴的稳态。此外,DEHP改变了肠道微生物群,破坏了微生物网络,并影响了与β-葡萄糖醛酸酶相关的分类群,导致激素波动和生育能力下降。这项研究强调肠道微生物群紊乱是将DEHP暴露与生殖功能障碍联系起来的一种新机制。我们的研究提供了关于肠道微生物群和HPO轴的紊乱及其作为DEHP暴露干扰生殖功能相关人类健康的潜在新机制的功能的新见解。