Individual and joint effects of phthalates exposure on the risk of early miscarriage

Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate disrupts circadian rhythm associated with changes in metabolites and cytochrome P450 gene expression in Caenorhabditis elegans

The plasticizer di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is a widespread environmental pollutant due to its extensive use. While circadian rhythms are inherent in most living organisms, the detrimental effects of DEHP on circadian rhythm and the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. This study investigated the influence of early developmental exposure to DEHP on circadian rhythm and explored the possible relationship between circadian disruption and DEHP metabolism in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. We observed that DEHP disrupted circadian rhythm in a dose-dependent fashion. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis revealed that DEHP-induced circadian disruption accompanies with altered proportions of DEHP metabolites in C. elegans. RNA sequencing data demonstrated that DEHP-induced circadian rhythm disruption caused differential gene expression. Moreover, DEHP-induced circadian disruption coincided with attenuated inductions of DEHP-induced cytochrome P450 genes, cyp-35A2, cyp-35A3, and cyp-35A4. Notably, cyp-35A2 mRNA exhibited circadian rhythm with entrainment, but DEHP exposure disrupted this rhythm. Our findings suggest that DEHP exposure disrupts circadian rhythm, which is associated with changes in DEHP metabolites and cytochrome P450 gene expression in C. elegans. Given the ubiquitous nature of DEHP pollution and the prevalence of circadian rhythms in living organisms, this study implies a potential negative impact of DEHP on circadian rhythm and DEHP metabolism in organisms.

The silent threat and countermeasures: Navigating the mixture risk of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on pregnancy loss in China

Currently, many countries and regions worldwide face the challenge of declining population growth due to persistently low rates of female reproduction. Since 2017, China's birth rate has hit historic lows and continued to decline, with the death rate now equaling the birth rate. Concerns have emerged regarding the potential impact of environmental contaminants on reproductive health, including pregnancy loss. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) like phthalate esters (PAEs), bisphenol A (BPA), triclosan (TCS), and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have raised attention due to their adverse effects on biological systems. While China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for national economic and social development included the treatment of emerging pollutants, including EDCs, there are currently no national appraisal standards or regulatory frameworks for EDCs and their mixtures. Addressing the risk of EDC mixtures is an urgent matter that needs consideration from China's perspective in the near future. In this Perspective, we delve into the link between EDC mixture exposure and pregnancy loss in China. Our focus areas include establishing a comprehensive national plan targeting reproductive-aged women across diverse urban and rural areas, understanding common EDC combinations in women and their surrounding environment, exploring the relationship between EDCs and pregnancy loss via epidemiology, and reconsidering the safety of EDCs, particularly in mixtures and low-dose scenarios. We envision that this study could aid in creating preventive strategies and interventions to alleviate potential risks induced by EDC exposure during pregnancy in China.

Deciphering molecular basis of pesticide-induced recurrent pregnancy loss: insights from transcriptomics analysis

Recent studies have revealed a notable connection between pesticide exposure and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss (RPL), yet the precise molecular underpinning of this toxicity remains elusive. Through the alignment of Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs) of healthy and RPL patients with the target genes of 9 pesticide components, we identified a set of 12 genes responsible for RPL etiology. Interestingly, biological process showed that besides RPL, those 12 genes also associated with preeclampsia and cardiovascular disease. Enrichment analysis showed the engagement of these genes associated with essential roles in the molecular transport of small molecules, as well as the aldosterone-regulated sodium reabsorption, endocrine and other factor-regulated calcium reabsorption, mineral absorption, ion homeostasis, and ion transport by P-type ATPases. Notably, the crosstalk targets between pesticide components played crucial roles in influencing RPL results, suggesting a role in attenuating pesticide agents that contribute to RPL. It is important to note that non-significant concentration of the pesticide components observed in both control and RPL samples should not prematurely undermine the potential for pesticides to induce RPL in humans. This study emphasizes the complexity of pesticide induced RPL and highlights avenues for further research and precautionary measures.

Association of maternal phthalates exposure and metabolic gene polymorphisms with congenital heart diseases: a multicenter case-control study

BACKGROUND

The majority of congenital heart diseases (CHDs) are thought to result from the interactions of genetics and the environment factors. This study aimed to assess the association of maternal non-occupational phthalates exposure, metabolic gene polymorphisms and their interactions with risk of CHDs in offspring.

METHODS

A multicenter case-control study of 245 mothers with CHDs infants and 268 control mothers of health infant was conducted from six hospitals. Maternal urinary concentrations of eight phthalate metabolites were measured by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Twenty single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in cytochrome P450 family 2 subfamily C member 9 (CYP2C9) and 19 (CYP2C19), uridine diphosphate (UDP) glucuronosyl transferase family 1 member A7 (UGT1A7), family 2 member B7 (UGT2B7) and B15(UGT2B15) genes were genotyped. The multivariate logistic regressions were used to estimate the association between maternal phthalates exposure or gene polymorphisms and risk of CHDs. Generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction (GMDR) was used to analyze the gene-gene and gene-phthalates exposure interactions.

RESULTS

There was no significant difference in phthalate metabolites concentrations between the cases and controls. No significant positive associations were observed between maternal exposure to phthalates and CHDs. The SNPs of UGT1A7 gene at rs4124874 (under three models, log-additive: aOR = 1.74, 95% CI:1.28-2.37; dominant: aOR = 1.86, 95% CI:1.25-2.78; recessive: aOR = 2.50, 95% CI: 1.26-4.94) and rs887829 (under the recessive model: aOR = 13.66, 95% CI: 1.54-121) were significantly associated with an increased risk of CHDs. Furthermore, the associations between rs4124874 (under log-additive and dominant models) of UGT1A7 were statistically significant after the false discovery rate correction. No significant gene-gene or gene-phthalate metabolites interactions were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

The polymorphisms of maternal UGT1A7 gene at rs4124874 and rs887829 were significantly associated with an increased risk of CHDs. More large-scale studies or prospective study designs are needed to confirm or refute our findings in the future.

Associations of personal care products use with reproductive outcomes of IVF/ICSI treatment

Introduction

Personal care products (PCPs) contain a number of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that could potentially affect the reproductive function in women of childbearing age. However, studies focused on the effects of PCPs use on reproductive outcomes are very limited. The current study aimed to explore the relationships between PCPs use patterns and reproductive outcomes in women undergoing in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) treatment.

Methods

A total of 1500 women from the Tongji Reproductive and Environmental (TREE) study between December 2018 and January 2020 were included in this study. Participants provided characteristics of PCPs use within the previous three months. Retrieved oocyte number, mature oocyte number, two distinct pronuclei (2PN) zygote number, fertilization rate, cleavage rate, blastocyst formation rate, implantation, clinical pregnancy, miscarriage, and live birth were followed up as reproductive endpoints. Generalized linear regression model was utilized to assess the associations between various categories of PCPs use and reproductive endpoints of IVF/ICSI.

Results

After adjusting for relevant covariates, women who used skin care products ≥14 times per week had a reduction of 22.4% in the maturation rate (95% CI: -39.2%, -1.6%) compared to participants who did not use skin care products. After transferring fresh embryos, women who used cosmetics 1-2 times per week (adjusted OR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.0, 4.8) or 3-7 times per week (adjusted OR = 2.5, 95% CI: 1.2, 5.2) had a higher possibility of miscarriage than those who did not use cosmetics. There was negative association between the use of gel or soap and the cleavage rate among women aged < 30 years old (P for interaction = 0.01). Among women with BMI ≥ 24 kg/m2, the use of gel or soap was negatively associated with the blastocyst formation rate (P for interaction = 0.04), while cosmetics use was negatively associated with the maturation rate (P for interaction = 0.001).

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that the use of PCPs in women of reproductive age have a potential adverse impact on IVF/ICSI outcomes, particularly skin care and cosmetic products.

Influence of maternal endocrine disrupting chemicals exposure on adverse pregnancy outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Maternal endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) exposure, the common environmental pollutants, was capable of involving in adverse pregnancy outcomes. However, the evidence of their connection is not consistent. Our goal was to comprehensively explore the risk of EDCs related to adverse pregnancy outcomes. One hundred and one studies were included from two databases before 2023 to explore the association between EDCs and adverse pregnancy outcomes including miscarriage, small for gestational age (SGA), low birth weight (LBW) and preterm birth (PTB). We found that maternal PFASs exposure was positively correlated with PTB (OR:1.13, 95% CI:1.04-1.23), SGA (OR:1.10, 95% CI:1.04-1.16) and miscarriage (OR:1.09, 95% CI:1.00-1.19). The pooled estimates also showed maternal PAEs exposure was linked with PTB (OR:1.16, 95% CI:1.11-1.21), SGA (OR:1.20, 95% CI:1.07-1.35) and miscarriage (OR:1.55, 95% CI:1.33-1.81). In addition, maternal exposure to some specific class of EDCs including PFOS, MBP, MEHP, DEHP, and BPA was associated with PTB. Maternal exposure to PFOS, PFOA, PFHpA was associated with SGA. Maternal exposure to BPA was associated with LBW. Maternal exposure to MMP, MEHP, MEHHP, MEOHP, BPA was associated with miscarriage. Maternal PFASs, PAEs and BPA exposure may increase adverse pregnancy outcomes risk according to our study. However, the limited number of studies on dose-response hampered further explanation for causal association.