FIG. 2.

Effect of acute di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) exposure on serum sex steroid hormone levels at 9 months postdosing. Adult CD-1 mice were orally dosed with vehicle (tocopherol-stripped corn oil) or DEHP (20 µg/kg/day–500 mg/kg/day) daily for 10 days. Following 9 months postdosing, serum was collected, sent to the University of Virginia Center for Research in Reproduction Ligand Assay and Analysis Core, and subjected to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for the measurements of progesterone (panel A), testosterone (panel B), and estradiol (panel C). Further, the testosterone/estradiol (panel D) and estradiol/progesterone (panel E) ratios were calculated. Graphs represent means ± SEM (n = 4–6 mice/treatment group). Asterisks (*) represent significant difference from vehicle control (P ≤ 0.05).