Estudio translacional de los efectos del disruptor endocrino di(2-etilhexil) ftalto (DEHP) sobre la función reproductiva femenina en un modelo animal ovino

Resum

There are, currently, increasing concerns about evidences found on the effects of phthalates, materials widely used in plastic industries, as endocrine disruptors. Specifically, the di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), used for producing polyvinyl chloride (PVC); DEHP has a high propensity for releasing from plastic, so animals and human beings are very exposed to its action. The presence of phthalates, potentially toxic, in different fluids and tissues of animal and human origin has been related to different structural and functional alterations. Current Doctoral Thesis affords the design and use of an experimental model, based in previous work in sheep, for the development of studies of kinetics and dynamics of DEHP in adult females. The main objective is the evaluation of the effects of the exposure to DEHP, during short periods of time, on the female reproductive function. Therefore, there were two consecutive phases. Firstly, the design of the model by the evaluation of DEHP levels in unexposed individuals and, later, the evaluation of the kinetics (bioavailability, distribution and elimination) for establishing a model of intoxication. Second, the proper study on the effects of DEHP on reproductive activity of adult females (neuroendocrine and ovarian function) using our experimental model.