Dibutyl phthalate-mediated oxidative stress induces splenic injury in mice and the attenuating effects of vitamin E and curcumin

Abstract Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is a ubiquitous environmental contaminant that at certain levels can be harmful to human health. Although DBP has been widely linked to immunotoxicity, any association between DBP exposure and splenic injury remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether DBP exposure can induce splenic injury and the antagonistic effects of two antioxidants, vitamin E (VitE) and curcumin (Cur), on DBP-induced splenic injury. The levels of ROS, GSH, T-AOC, IL-1β, TNF-α, cytochrome C, caspase-8, caspase-9 and caspase-3 in the spleen homogenate of mice were measured. Any histopathological changes in the spleen were observed using H&E and toluidine blue staining. And the morphology of mitochondria was observed using Janus Green B staining. The results indicate that exposure to 50 mg/kg DBP could cause histopathological changes of the spleen and result in inflammation and apoptosis associated with oxidative stress, which may lead to splenic injury in mice. Moreover, both VitE and Cur could antagonize the oxidative stress induced by DBP to reduce splenic injury. These findings help to expand our understanding of DBP-mediated immunotoxicity, and to show that VitE and Cur can alleviate DBP-induced splenic injury and the possible DBP-associated decline in immune function.