Phthalate and non-phthalate plasticizers are used in polymer materials, such as plastic and rubber. It has recently been found that diisobutyl adipate (DIBA), which is considered an environmentally safe non-phthalate plasticizer, potentially acts as a thyroid disruptor in fish. Here, we investigated the sexual hormone effects of DIBA based on the expression levels of genes that respond to endocrine disruption and sexual hormone activity in the livers and gonads, and on gonadal sexual differentiation in Japanese medaka. Compared with the control group, the mRNA expression of chgH, vtg1, vtg2, and esr1 was significantly suppressed in the livers of DIBA exposed XX individuals. Furthermore, the mRNA expression of gsdf was significantly upregulated and downregulated in the gonads of XX and XY individuals, respectively. The mRNA expressions of esr1 and esr2b were significantly suppressed by DIBA exposure in the gonads of both XX and XY individuals. These observations suggest that DIBA has potential androgenic activity in Japanese medaka. However, normal testes and ovaries were observed in respective XY and XX medaka after DIBA exposure; therefore, these results suggest that DIBA may have weak androgenic activity.

邻苯二甲酸酯和非邻苯二甲酸酯增塑剂用于聚合物材料，例如塑料和橡胶。最近发现己二酸二异丁酯（DIBA）被认为是一种环境安全的非邻苯二甲酸酯增塑剂，可能会干扰鱼类的甲状腺。在这里，我们根据肝脏和性腺中对内分泌干扰和性激素活性作出反应的基因的表达水平以及日本青鳉的性腺性别分化来研究 DIBA 的性激素作用。与对照组相比，DIBA暴露的XX个体肝脏中chgH 、 vtg1 、 vtg2和esr1的mRNA表达显着受到抑制。此外，xx和XY个体的性腺中gsdf的mRNA表达分别显着上调和下调。 XX 和 XY 个体性腺中esr1和esr2b的 mRNA 表达均因 DIBA 暴露而受到显着抑制。这些观察结果表明 DIBA 在日本青鳉中具有潜在的雄激素活性。然而，在 DIBA 暴露后，XY 和 XX 青鳉的睾丸和卵巢均正常；因此，这些结果表明 DIBA 可能具有较弱的雄激素活性。