Exposure to Endocrine Disrupters and Nuclear Receptor Gene Expression in Infertile and Fertile Women from Different Italian Areas

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Cinzia La Rocca³  Sabrina Tait³  Cristiana Guerranti²  Luca Busani³  Francesca Ciardo⁴  Bruno Bergamasco³  Laura Stecca³  Guido Perra²  Francesca Romana Mancini³  Roberto Marci¹  Giulia Bordi⁴  Donatella Caserta⁴  Silvano Focardi²  Massimo Moscarini⁴  Alberto Mantovani³ 

[1] Department of Biomedical Sciences and Advanced Therapies, Section of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara 44121, Italy; E-Mail:;Department of Physical, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Siena, Siena 53100, Italy; E-Mails:;Department of Food Safety and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Roma 00161, Italy; E-Mails:;Department of Obstetric and Gynecological Sciences and Urological Sciences, University of Roma Sapienza, S. Andrea Hospital, Roma 00189, Italy; E-Mails:

关键词: human exposure;    women infertility;    PFOS;    PFOA;    BPA;    DEHP;    MEHP;    biomarkers;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph111010146

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Within the PREVIENI project, infertile and fertile women were enrolled from metropolitan, urban and rural Italian areas. Blood/serum levels of several endocrine disrupters (EDs) (perfluorooctane sulfonate, PFOS; perfluorooctanoic acid, PFOA; di-2-ethylhexyl-phthalate, DEHP; mono-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate, MEHP; bisphenol A, BPA) were evaluated concurrently with nuclear receptors (NRs) gene expression levels (ERα, ERβ, AR, AhR, PPARγ, PXR) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Infertile women from the metropolitan area displayed significantly higher levels of: BPA compared to fertile women (14.9 vs. 0.5 ng/mL serum); BPA and MEHP compared to infertile women from urban and rural areas; enhanced expression levels of NRs, except PPARγ. Infertile women from urban and rural areas had PFOA levels significantly higher than those from metropolitan areas. Our study indicates the relevance of the living environment when investigating the exposure to EDs and the modulation of the NR panel in PBMC as a suitable biomarker of the effect, to assess the EDs impact on reproductive health.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.