Do not forget the father: Multigenerational effects of adult male Phthalate exposure

While the adverse effects of maternal lifestyle and in utero exposures on offspring development and health are well studied, the effects of adult male preconceptional exposures have been largely ignored.

The overall goal of this project is to determine if, and how, the adult male chemical environment may affect sperm and offspring via paternal epigenetic inheritance.

Based on our intriguing data, we hypothesize that chemical contaminants, particularly phthalates and anti-androgens, can induce alterations in the immune, metabolic and reproductive system, including sperm biomolecules, which are transferred to the next generation during fertilization and affect offspring development via epigenetic mechanisms.

To test the hypothesis, we will conduct single cell molecular analysis (ATAC-seq/RNA-seq) and integrate animal and human studies to identify compound-induced alterations in phenotype and the sperm epigenome, and determine the impact on embryogenesis, development and long-term health of the offspring.

The project can contribute to ground-breaking mechanistic understanding of how the adult male chemical environment affect offspring through epigenetic inheritance.

The obtained results may also have important societal impact via new chemical regulations and male preconceptional interventions to protect child health.