Endocrine Abstracts

Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) are a heterogeneous class of compounds so called for their ability to interfere with the endocrine system. These environmental pollutants are detected in different environmental matrices; they can bioaccumulate in adipose tissue and biomagnificate in food chain due to their high hydrophobicity and low water solubility¹. Two EDCs usually used in the manufacture of domestic, industrial, and agricultural products are Dibutylphtalate (DBP) and Nonylphenol (NP). They are found in personal-care products, children’s toys, and food products, so human population appears to be predominantly exposed to them, through ingestion or skin contact. It has been demonstrated that both are able to damage male reproductive system^2-4. Due to the important role of prostate gland in male reproduction and fertility, in the present work, we evaluated the effects of DBP and NP, used alone or in different mixtures with or without endogenous sexual hormones as 17-α-estradiol and testosterone on human prostate cell line PNT1A. The first data showed that all EDCs, alone or in mixtures affected cell proliferation. Specifically, we observed a hyperproliferative estrogen-like behaviour of NP that in mixtures seemed to hide the antiandrogenic effect of DBP. We have also shown that DBP and NP activated estrogen receptor pathways, mainly interacting with ERα. Moreover, we investigated EDC ability to induce inflammation that is a first step to prostate gland hyperplasia. We observed that cytokines and chemokines levels, such as IL-9 PDGF, TNFα, MIP-1α, MIP-1α, IL-1α were altered after all the treatments, suggesting NP and DBP involvement in the onset of inflammation processes. In conclusion, we have pointed attention on dangerousness of the mixtures able to induce a strong imbalance of prostate cell physiology.

References: 1. De Falco M and Laforgia V. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 18(18): 9772. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18189772

2. Di Lorenzo M, et al. Ecotoxicol Environment Saf 2018; 147:565-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2017.09.030

3. Forte M, et al. Toxicology 2016; 357-358, 21-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tox.2016.05.024

4. Forte M, et al. Ecotoxicol Environment Saf 2019; 180:412-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.05.035