Exposure to the endocrine disruptor di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate affects female reproductive features by altering pulsatile LH secretion

•Alterations in corpora lutea in DEHP-exposed females are related to inadequate LH secretion.•DEHP-exposed females evidence alterations in corpora lutea but high circulating progesterone.•High circulating progesterone in DEHP-exposed females causes alterations in LH secretion.•High circulating progesterone may be related to alterations in the hepatic metabolism.

The patterns of growth of preovulatory follicles and corpora lutea, as well as plasma concentrations of estradiol, progesterone and LH were evaluated in sheep exposed to DEHP. There were not found effects on the preovulatory follicular dynamics nor on the ovulatory efficiency between DEHP-exposed and control sheep. However, plasma estradiol concentration was significantly higher in the ewes exposed to DEHP than in the control females (P < 0.001). Afterwards, DEHP-exposed ewes had significantly higher plasma progesterone concentration from Day 2 of the luteal phase (P < 0.05), although there were no differences between groups in the macro- and microscopic features of the corpora lutea. Analysis of mean basal concentrations of LH showed lower values in DEHP-exposed than in control sheep (0.3 ± 01 ng/mL vs. 0.7 ± 0.1; P < 0.05). Moreover, the frequency of LH pulses was 0.3 pulses/4 h, with amplitude of 0.6 ng/mL, in the control group; on the other hand, the pulsatile secretion of LH in the DEHP-exposed group was undetectable during the period of sampling.