Characterization of Estrogenic and Androgenic Activities for Bisphenol A-like Chemicals (BPs): In Vitro Estrogen and Androgen Receptors Transcriptional Activation, Gene Regulation, and Binding Profiles

Katherine E. Pelch, Yin Li, Lalith Perera, Kristina A. Thayer, Kenneth S. Korach

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

64 Scopus citations

Abstract

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a high production volume chemical widely used in plastics, food packaging, and many other products. It is well known that endocrine-disrupting chemicals might be harmful to human health due to interference with normal hormone actions. Recent studies report widespread usage and exposure to many BPA-like chemicals (BPs) that are structurally or functionally similar to BPA. However, the biological actions and toxicity of those BPs are still relatively unknown. To address this data gap, we used in vitro cell models to evaluate the ability of 22 BPs to induce or inhibit estrogenic and androgenic activity. BPA, Bisphenol AF (BPAF), bisphenol Z (BPZ), bisphenol C (BPC), tetramethyl bisphenol A (TMBPA), bisphenol S (BPS), bisphenol E (BPE), 4,4-bisphenol F (4,4-BPF), bisphenol AP (BPAP), bisphenol B (BPB), tetrachlorobisphenol A (TCBPA), and benzylparaben (PHBB) induced estrogen receptor (ER)α and/or ERβ-mediated activity. With the exception of BPS, TCBPA, and PHBB, these same BPs were also androgen receptor (AR) antagonists. Only 3 BPs were found to be ER antagonists. Bisphenol P (BPP) selectively inhibited ERβ-mediated activity and 4-(4-phenylmethoxyphenyl)sulfonylphenol (BPS-MPE) and 2,4-bisphenol S (2,4-BPS) selectively inhibited ERα-mediated activity. None of the BPs induced AR-mediated activity. In addition, we identify that the BPs can bind to ER or AR with varying degrees by a molecular modeling analysis. Taken together, these findings help us to understand the molecular mechanism of BPs and further consideration of their usage in consumer products.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)23-37
Number of pages15
JournalToxicological Sciences
Volume172
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Nov 2019

Keywords

  • androgen receptor
  • binding
  • bisphenol analogs
  • estrogen receptor
  • gene regulation
  • transcriptional activation

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