Grant: Project Grant

As part of our everyday lives we are exposed to a wide variety of chemicals derived from consumer products, such as foam, electronic equipment and plastics. Most of these chemicals are present at very low concentrations. However, exposure to even low doses of substances that disrupt hormones can exert important biological effects. In particular, exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals are suspected of contributing to the declines in human fertility reported from the developed world. In the past decade governments across the world have regulated the production, uses and importation of specific environmental chemicals that have been shown to disrupt hormone actions. As a consequence, alternative chemicals have entered the market to fill the "gaps". However, there is often little information on the extent to which we are exposed to these replacements or on their health impacts. Our research will focus on a major group of such chemicals, the organophosphate esters (OPEs), that is in rapidly increasing use. We will test the hypothesis that exposure to these compounds is associated with adverse effects on the male and/or female reproductive systems. Cells with key endocrine functions will be used to identify genes and pathways that are disrupted by OPEs and may serve as biomarkers of their effects on fertility. Using an animal model we will elucidate the effects of exposure to the mixture of OPEs found in Canadian house dust on male and female fertility. Finally, we will assess the association of human OPE body burden with female and male infertility. These studies will enhance our understanding of the health consequences of exposure to a family of widely used chemicals for which we currently have very limited data. In addition, we expect that they will contribute to the development of policies to ensure the identification of alternative chemicals that are safer and have a reduced environmental impact prior to their use as replacements.