According to a study conducted by the University of California, Riverside (USA), people exposed to chemicals found in plastics can pass on deteriorating metabolic health to their next generations. Plastics contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that have been linked to an increased risk of chronic disease,…
People exposed to chemicals found in plastics may be damaged metabolic health to their next generations, according to a study conducted by the University of California, Riverside (USA).
contain plastic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) which is associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases as well as metabolic disorders, such as obesity and diabetes, in the offspring of affected individuals.
So far, most studies have focused on the effect of maternal EDC exposure on the health of the offspring. The present study, published in the journal ‘Environment International’, focuses on Effects of paternal exposure to EDCs.
the director Changcheng Zhou, Professor of Biomedical Sciences at the University of California School of Medicine, The team examined the effect of paternal exposure to a phthalate called dicyclohexyl phthalate, or DCHP, on the metabolic health of the first generation (F1) and second generation (F2). offspring in mice. Phthalates are chemicals used to make plastics more durable.
The researchers found that paternal exposure to DCHP for four weeks resulted in a high insulin resistance and impaired insulin signaling in the F1 progeny. The same effect, but weaker, was observed in the F2 progeny.
,Our study is the first to show that paternal exposure to endocrine-disrupting phthalates can have inter-generational and transgenerational adverse effects on the metabolic health of their offspring.“, explained the person in charge of the same
In the case of paternal exposure, inter-generational effects are changes that result from direct exposure to the stressor, such as exposure to DCHP of parents (F0 generation) and their developing sperm (F1 generation). Transgenerational effects are changes that are passed on to offspring that are not directly exposed to the stress (for example, the F2 generation).
Pro’s team. Zhou focused on sperm Specifically, its small RNA molecules that are responsible for passing information from generation to generation. The researchers used the “Pandora-Seq method,” an innovative method that demonstrated that exposure to DCHP can cause changes in small RNAs in sperm. These changes are not detected by conventional RNA sequencing methods, which lack the comprehensive overview of small RNA profiling that Pandora-Seq provides.
Only F1 male mice were used in the study, so that they could be bred with unexposed female mice to produce F2 offspring. The team found that paternal exposure to DCHP induced metabolic disorders, such as glucose intolerance, in both male and female F1 offspring, but these disorders were only observed in female F2 offspring. The study did not examine F3 offspring.
,This suggests that paternal exposure to DCHP may have sex-specific transgenerational effects on the metabolic health of their offspring. “It’s best to reduce our use of plastic products. You can also help reduce plastic pollution, one of our most important environmental issues.Zhou concluded.
