Environment Plastics plasticizers can affect the genetic material

Study: Plastic softeners can alter the genome
Chemical softeners that make plastic moldable are used for the production of numerous products. They are found in children's toys, cosmetics or clothing. According to a new study, these plasticizers can even change the genome.

Male sperm can be damaged
In many industrialized countries, the sperm count in young men decreases - and of course fertility. For some time, it has been assumed that widespread industrial chemicals may be the cause of this. For example, an earlier study by a German-Danish research group showed that substances used in, for example, suntan lotion and toothpaste can damage male sperm. As reported by the news agency APA, a Swiss study on mice now indicates that some of these chemicals can even alter the genome.

Health effects of plasticizers. Image: monticellllo - fotolia

Plasticizers in toys and cosmetics
Plasticizers such as phthalates are used to make plastic malleable. Among other things, they are used in paints, clothing, cosmetics or toys, as the University Hospitals Geneva (HUG) announced on Monday. Various older studies have shown that the plasticizer biosphenol-A threatens our health. There was evidence that this may cause developmental disorders, neurological damage, male infertility and cancer. In addition, some plasticizers reduce intelligence, as shown by research by researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in New York.

Impaired fertility
And in rodents it has now been shown that plasticizers affect their fertility through their hormone-like action. It has been reported that a team from HUG and the Universities of Geneva and Lausanne fed phthalates to female mice of two genetically different strains during pregnancy. However, the doses were reported to be well above the acceptable levels for humans. Later, the scientists looked at the sperm production and the genetic material of the male offspring.

Changes in genetic make-up
According to the researchers, there were indeed changes in the genetic makeup of certain genes that regulate the activity of genes - so-called epigenetic changes. In the journal "PLOS ONE" they report that this was accompanied by a reduction in the fertility of these males. Accordingly, genes that play a role in the maturation and orientation of sperm have been altered. This was true only for one of the mouse strains. The other one was not. Further experiments suggest that even higher doses caused this damage. According to the authors, the results show that environmental factors in pregnancy can damage fertility and affect the genome as a whole. However, the effect of such substances on individuals varies. (Ad)