80 The Need for a Clinical and Translational Science Framework to Bridge Environmental Contamination Data and Male Reproductive Health

Abstract

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Although there is ample evidence that environmental contaminants impact reproductive health, the exact mechanisms of action, for the most part, remains unclear. We sought to determine whether known contaminants in Puerto Rico can contribute to the selection of a bioassay to add granularity to geospatial contamination data at the cellular level. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: A PubMed literature search was conducted: Puerto Rico AND Vieques AND Environmental Contaminants AND Heavy Metals OR Phthalates OR Metals OR PCB OR Air Pollution OR CVOC . Additional inclusion criteria were free full text, English language and year of publication between 2000 to 2022 (n = 244 studies). References that were not related to Puerto Rico and environmental contaminants in air, soil, water, or vegetation were excluded. A second PubMed literature search was conducted to determine whether a clinical link has been established between contaminant exposure and the male reproductive system. Search terms were: heavy metals AND hypospadias OR cryptorchidism NOT female NOT animal NOT review , heavy metals AND male infertility NOT female NOT animal NOT review . The same strategy was used for phthalates. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: We found that 12 out of 15 studies that were conducted in the Archipelago of Puerto Rico between 2000-2022 reported heavy metals- and/or phthalates- contamination in soil and water. We also found that there is a paucity of clinical studies that consider plausible relationships between a given contaminant and congenital conditions or male reproductive function. Specifically, we found that heavy metal exposure has been linked to hypospadias (n=1 study), comorbidity of hypospadias plus cryptorchidism (n= 1 study) or male infertility (n=14 studies). Phthalates exposure has been linked to comorbidity of hypospadias and cryptorchidism (n=1 study) or male infertility (n=1 study). Male subfertility has been overlooked so far. We noted that Sertoli cell dysfunction has been linked to all of these conditions. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The geography of Puerto Rico provides an opportunity to close the gap in knowledge between environmental contamination and male reproductive health. Based on our findings, we propose that the use of a bioassay with an immortalized Sertoli cell line can uncover the cellular processes that may be affected in male reproduction upon contaminant exposure.