Dioctyl phthalate exposure affects the multiple organs and gut microbiota in mice at different developmental stages

Dioctyl phthalate, is a commonly used plasticizer in various industries and directly or indirectly affects human health. So far no such study has evaluated its potential risk for human health by comparing its accumulation in different organs of different age groups. In this study, we analyzed the effects of low and highdoses of DEHP on five different organs of mice at youngand aged life stages. We found that low and high doses of DEHP exposure caused significant inflammation in the liver, spleen, and kidney in a dose-dependent manner. Regardless of age, the ALT and ALP activity in the liver was significantly increased and the Cr and Urea levels in the kidney were also upregulated.Furthermore, 16s rRNA sequencing of fecal microbiota from each group showed that DEHP exposure disrupted the gut microbiota homeostasis with a notably high abundance of pathogenic bacteria and a low abundance of beneficial bacteria. The present study provides strong evidence that different concentrations of DEHP can damage multiple organs and gut microbiota. Our work set a basis for further examining the DEHP toxicity in various human organs.