Phthalate esters are widely used as plasticizers in the manufacture of products made of polyvinyl chloride. Mono-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (MEHP) induces rodent hepatocarcinogenesis by a mechanism that involves activation of the nuclear transcription factor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR ). MEHP also activates PPAR-gamma (PPAR ), which contributes to adipocyte differentiat...

Mechanisms responsible for alcohol-induced heart muscle disease have been difficult to elucidate partly because of previously obscure, demonstrable cardiac metabolism of ethanol. Recently, fatty acid ethyl esters were identified in our laboratory and found to be myocardial metabolites of ethanol. In the present study, they have been shown to induce mitochondrial dysfunction. Incubation of isola...

A. Introduction B. Acid-Catalysed Esterification and Transesterification 1. General mechanism 2. Methanolic hydrogen chloride 3. Methanolic sulfuric acid 4. Boron trifluoride-methanol 5. Other acidic catalysts C. Base-Catalysed Transesterification 1. General mechanism 2. Sodium and potassium methoxide catalysts 3. Organic base catalysis D. Diazomethane and Related Reagents 1. Diazomethane and m...

During the course of our analysis of fish and other aquatic materials for pesticide residues, unknown components were often detected. Concern about the identity of late eluting gas-liquid chromatographic (GLC) peaks in fish and water extracts led to the identification of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) as environmental contaminants (1). Further study of these contaminants with a GLC-mass spectromet...

Esters of phthalic acid are chemical agents used to improve the plasticity of industrial polymers. Their ubiquitous use in multiple commercial products results in extensive exposure to humans and the environment. This study investigated cytotoxicity, endocrine disruption, effects mediated via AhR, lipid peroxidation and effects on expression of enzymes of xenobiotic metabolism caused by di-(2-e...

BACKGROUND Phthalic acid esters are widely used in the manufacture of plastics. Numerous studies have shown that these phthalates impair testicular testosterone production in the rat. However, the scarce and contradictory data concerning humans have cast doubt over whether these compounds are also anti-androgenic in man. We therefore investigated the direct effects of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalat...