Abstract
4-tert-octylphenol (4t-OP) is a well-known xenoestrogen. Our objective was to explore the effects and molecular mechanisms of 4t-OP on human sperm. Sperm samples were exposed to 0, 0.1, or 0.3 mM 4t-OP for two hours. Results showed that both sperm viability and motility were significantly injured by 0.3 mM 4t-OP. We applied comparative proteomics to explore the molecular targets affected by 4t-OP. 81 differentially expressed (DE) proteins were identified. Bioinformatic analysis showed that these proteins were highly associated with motility and apoptosis, and were mostly enriched in cAMP-PKA/PKC-phosphorylation-associated pathway. We further verified that 0.1 mM and 0.3 mM 4t-OP significantly decreased cAMP activity of sperm. Expression of RACK1 and PRDX6 were detected by western blot (WB) to verify their tendencies in gels; antiapoptotic factor BCL2 was also detected by WB. The data indicated that 4-tert-octylphenol injures the motility and viability of human sperm probably by affecting cAMP-PKA/PKC-tyrosine phosphorylation signals.