Study On Reproductive Toxicity Of Di-(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate In Female Quails

Di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate(DEHP),as an endocrine disruptor,is widely present in the environment.DEHP can enter the body through a variety of ways,so it exerts a serious threat to animal health and ecological environment.However,the effect of DEHP on female reproductive system is still not well-studied,and the effects of DEHP on birds were rarely investigated.In this paper,female quail,as a test animal,were treated with DEHP by intragastric administration.The overall status of the quail and ovarian tubal pathological changes,detection of ovarian antioxidant function,hormone levels,hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis hormone related factors and related hormone receptor expression were detected.The results showed that:1.DEHP exposure caused the quail ovarian histopathologic and ultrastructural changes,disrupting sex hormone levels,induced ovarian developmental disorders.2.DEHP exposure can induce excessive production of lipid peroxides in ovary tissues of quail,inhibit the activities of antioxidant enzymes,and then induce oxidative stress,playing critical role on ovary damage of quail.3.DEHP exposure can affect the expression of progesterone receptor(PGR)and estrogen receptor(ER? and ER?),interfere with the expression of hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis steroid hormone-related factors and block the synthesis of steroid hormones.4.DEHP exposure can interfere with the normal regulation of female quail gonadal axis,disturb the reproductive endocrine system homeostasis,which may be one of the important mechanisms on DEHP-induced reproductive toxicity of female quail.In conclusion,DEHP exposure can cause the damage of ovarian tissue of female quail,interfere with the regulation of hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian gonadal axis,hinder the synthesis of sex hormones,make sex hormone secretion disorders,and then induce serious toxicity on reproductive system with dose-dependent manner.