Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate induced oxidative damage involving FasL-associated apoptotic pathway in mouse spermatogenic GC-2spd cells

Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) which belongs to phthalatic-acid esters, is a kind of harmful, global environmental pollutants. It is a known endocrine disrupting chemical and male reproductive toxicant. However, the mechanism by which DEHP exposure result in male reproductive toxicity is still unclear. To elucidate the productive toxicity mechanism of DEHP, we attemptted to investigate oxidative stress, apoptotic effects, mRNA and protein expression of apoptosis-associated genes including FasL, caspase-3, and caspase-8 in GC-2spd (mouse spermatogenic cells). The results showed that, with the increase of DEHP concentration, cell apoptosis rate increased; the activities of relation index of oxidative stress such as malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutatione peroxidase (GSH-PX) changed significantly; the mRNA and protein expression levels of FasL, caspase-3, -8, altered obviously. These results suggested that DEHP could induce apoptosis of GC-2spd cells through oxidative stress and FasL-dependent pathway.