A mixture of 15 phthalates and pesticides below individual chemical no observed adverse effect levels (NOAELs) produces reproductive tract malformations in the male rat

作者：Justin M. Conley, Christy Lambright, Nicola Evans, Mary C. Cardon, Elizabeth Medlock-Kakaley, Vickie S. Wilson, L. Earl Gray · 发表于：Environment International · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.1016/j.envint.2021.106615 · 被引用次数：71 · 研究领域：Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals、Carcinogens and Genotoxicity Assessment、Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact

Humans carry residues of multiple synthetic chemicals at any given point in time. Research has demonstrated that compounds with varying molecular initiating events (MIE) that disrupt common key events can act in concert to produce cumulative adverse effects. Congenital defects of the male reproductive tract are some of the most frequently diagnosed malformations in humans and chemical exposures in utero can produce these effects in laboratory animals and humans. Here, we hypothesized that in utero exposure to a mixture of pesticides and phthalates, each of which produce male reproductive tract defects individually, would produce cumulative effects even when each chemical is present at a no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) specific for male reproductive effects. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed via oral gavage to a fixed-ratio dilution mixture of 5 pesticides (vinclozolin, linuron, procymidone, prochloraz, pyrifluquinazon), 1 pesticide metabolite (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE)), and 9 phthalates (dipentyl, dicyclohexyl, di-2-ethylhexyl, dibutyl, benzyl butyl, diisobutyl, diisoheptyl, dihexyl, and diheptyl) during the critical window of rat fetal masculinization (gestation day 14-18). The top dose (100% dose) contained each compound at a concentration 2-fold greater than the individual chemical NOAEL followed by a dilution series that represented each chemical at NOAEL, NOAEL/2, NOAEL/4, NOAEL/8, NOAEL/15, NOAEL/100, NOAEL/1000. Reduced fetal testis gene ...