Adverse cardiovascular effects of long-term exposure to diethyl phthalate in the rat aorta

Phthalates are classified as priority environmental pollutants, since they are ubiquitous in the environment, have endocrine disrupting properties and can contribute to impaired health. Used primarily in personal care products and excipients for pharmaceuticals, diethyl phthalate (DEP) is a short-chain alkyl phthalate that has been linked to decreased blood pressure, glucose tolerance, and increased gestational weight gain in humans, while in animals it has been associated with atherosclerosis and metabolic syndrome. Although all these findings are related to risk factors or cardiovascular diseases, DEP's vascular impacts still need to be clarified. Thus, performing ex vivo and in vitro experiments, we aimed to understand the vascular DEP effects in rat. To evaluate the vascular contractility of rat aorta exposed to different doses of DEP (0.001-1000 μM), an organs bath was used; and resorting to a cell line of the rat aorta vascular smooth muscle, electrophysiology experiments were performed to analyse the effects of a rapid (within minutes with no genomic effects) and a long-term (24 h with genomic effects) exposure of DEP on the L-type Ca²⁺ current (I_Ca,L), and the expression of several genes related with the vascular function. For the first time, vascular electrophysiological properties of an EDC were analysed after a long-term genomic exposure. The results show a hormetic response of DEP, inducing a Ca²⁺ current inhibition of the rat aorta, which may be responsible for impaired cardiovascular electrical health. Thus, these findings contribute to a greater scientific knowledge about DEP's effects in the cardiovascular system, specifically its implications in the development of electrical disturbances like arrhythmias and its possible mechanisms.