Exposure of Adult Female Mice to Low Doses of di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate Alone or in an Environmental Phthalate Mixture: Evaluation of Reproductive Behavior and Underlying Neural Mechanisms

BACKGROUND: We have previously shown that adult male mice exposure to low doses of an ubiquitous endocrine disruptor, di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), alters courtship behavior. OBJECTIVE: The effects of adult exposure to low doses of DEHP alone or in an environmental phthalate mixture on estrous cyclicity, reproductive behavior, and underlying neural structures were analyzed in female mice. METHODS: and progesterone receptor (PR). The majority of effects observed was comparable between the two DEHP doses and were driven by DEHP in the mixture. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to environmental doses of DEHP alone or in mixture altered several components of female sexual behavior in mice, probably through selective disruption of neural PR signaling. Together with the previously reported vulnerability of male mice, this finding suggests a major impact of exposure to phthalates on sexual reproduction, including in other species with similar neural regulatory processes. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP7662.