Sub-chronically exposing mice to a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon increases lipid accumulation in their livers.

The potential for exposing humans and wildlife to environmental polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has increased. Risk assessments describing how PAHs disturb lipid metabolism and induce hepatotoxicity have only received limited attention. In the present study, seven-week-old male ICR mice received intraperitoneal injections of 0, 0.01, 0.1 or 1mg/kg body weight 3-methylcholanthrene (3MC) per week for 10 weeks. A high-fat diet was provided during the exposure. Histopathological lipid accumulation and lipid metabolism-related genes were measured. We observed that sub-chronic 3MC exposure significantly increased lipid droplet and triacylglycerol (TG) levels in the livers. A low dose of 3MC activated the aryl hydrocarbon receptor, which negatively regulated lipid synthesis in the livers. The primary genes including acetyl-CoA carboxylase (Acc), fatty acid synthase (Fas) and stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (Scd1) decreased significantly when compared with those in the control group, indicating that de novo fatty acid synthesis in the hepatocytes was significantly inhibited by the sub-chronic 3MC exposure. However, the free fatty acid (FFA) synthesis in the adipose tissue was greatly enhanced by up-regulating the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP1C) and target genes including Acc, Fas and Scd1. The synthesized FFA was released into the blood and then transported into the liver by the up-regulation of Fat and Fatp2, which resulted in the gradual accumulation of lipids in the liver. In conclusion, histological examinations and molecular level analyses highlighted the development of lipid accumulation and confirmed that 3MC significantly impaired lipid metabolism in mice.

Chronic exposure of mice to environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals disturbs their energy metabolism.

We evaluated the effects of a 20-week chronic exposure of mice to a low dose of cypermethrin (CYP), atrazine (ATZ) and 17α-ethynyestradiol (EE2) on energy metabolism. Here, male mice were exposed to 50 µg/kg BW/day CYP, 100 µg/kg BW/day ATZ or 1 µg/kg BW/day EE2 supplied in their drinking water for 20 weeks. During the exposure, mice were fed a high energy diet (HD). The bodyweights were not significantly affected by chronic exposure to EDCs, while the serum-free fatty acids (FFA) levels, hepatic lipid accumulation and triacylglycerol (TG) contents increased significantly in the ATZ- and CYP-HD groups. To determine the mechanism involved, we determined the expression levels of the genes in the glucose and fat metabolism pathways in the liver and adipose tissue. The results showed that chronic exposure to ATZ and CYP increased the mRNA levels of a number of key genes involved in both the de novo FFA synthesis pathway and the transport of FFA from blood. The increased amount of FFA was partially consumed as energy through ß-oxidation in the mitochondria. Some of the FFA was used to synthesize TG in the liver by up-regulating primary genes, which resulted in increased TG levels and lipid accumulation. The results indicate that chronic exposure to EDCs has the potential to cause energy metabolic dysregulation and hepatotoxicity in mice.