TRANSGENERATIONAL IMPACT OF CHEMICALS IN PLASTICS

By: Teja Kuwayama

Plastics, a now omnipresent material, possess endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) linked to increased risk of chronic diseases and metabolic disorders in offspring. Dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP) is a type of phthalate used to make plastics more durable and has been recently designated by the US Environmental Protection Agency as one of 20 highpriority substances for risk evaluation.

Most studies have analyzed the maternal impact of EDC exposure on offspring health. Changcheng Zhou, a professor of biomedical sciences in the School of Medicine, led an innovative study examining the impact of DCHP on the metabolic health of firstgeneration (F1) and second-generation (F2) mice offspring. The research team found that DCHP exposure can cause small RNA changes in sperm, using the “PANDORA-seq method” that detects changes overlooked by more traditional RNA-sequencing methods.

This study found that parental exposure to EDCs might have inter/transgenerational impacts on metabolic health. After breeding F1 males with unexposed females, the researchers discovered metabolic disorders in male and female F1 offspring and female F2 offspring, due to parental DCHP exposure. The reasoning behind parental DCHP exposure ’ s sex-specific transgenerational effects is currently unknown.

Despite DCHP’s widespread usage in plastic products, there is not a comprehensive understanding of its implications for human health. Zhou advised that “it's best to minimize our use of plastic products" which would also serve to lessen plastic pollution.