Abstract
Phthalate esters (PAEs) are a widespread environmental pollutant, and their ecological and environmental health risks have gradually attracted attention. To reveal the toxicity characteristics of these compounds, ten PAEs were selected as research objects to establish a cell model. CCK-8 was used to determine cell viability, Western blots were used to determine the content of Nrf2 in HepG2, and the LD50 collected for the 13 PAEs administered to rats. On this basis, 3D-QSAR models of IC50, LD50 and Nrf2 were established. The experimental results showed that as the time of PAEs exposure increased (24, 48 and 72 h), cell viability gradually decreased. The test concentration (62.5 /125/250 μM) of PAEs exposed for 48 h could significantly increase the content of Nrf2, and the 1000 μM PAEs could inhibit the content of Nrf2. The model is relatively stable and predicts well that the introduction of large and hydrophobic groups may significantly affect the toxic effects of PAEs on cells. The present study provided a potential tool for predicting the LD50 and Nrf2 of new PAEs, and provide a reference for the design of new less toxic PAEs in the future.
Highlights
Phthalate esters (PAEs) are mainly used as plasticisers that can be employed in various chemical products to promote processing and product flexibility [1,2]
In a study compared with the workers who were not exposed to high levels of DEHP and dibutyl phthalate (DBP), workers exposed to high levels DEHP and DBP had significantly lower free testosterone [11]
Our results found that the changes in LD50, IC50 or Nrf2 were closely related to the hydrophobic field and the steric field, and the proportions were very large with the results like previous studies [33]
Summary
Phthalate esters (PAEs) are mainly used as plasticisers that can be employed in various chemical products to promote processing and product flexibility [1,2]. Since their first application in industrial products in the 1920s [3], their global production and consumption have increased to more than 6 million tons [4]. Due to the weak binding force between phthalates and substrates, the PAEs could be gradually released from the product to the environment during production, use, disposal and recycle [8,9], leading to frequent and undesirable human contact. Exposure of pregnant women to various PAEs led to a shortened anal-genital distance in male infants [12]
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