High bisphenol A concentrations augment the invasiveness of tumor cells through Snail-1/Cx43/ERRγ-dependent epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is commonly present in plastics used for food storage and preservation. The release of BPA from these products results in a permanent human exposition to BPA; however, the quality and quantity of BPA adverse effects remain a matter of controversy. The common presence of BPA in the human environment and the controversies concerning the relations of human exposition to BPA and cancer incidence justify the research on the interactions between BPA and pro-metastatic signaling in cancer cells. Here, we describe a novel BPA-reactive signaling axis that induces the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells. BPA exerted negligible effects on their properties in a wide range of concentrations (10 nM - 100 nM), whereas it considerably induced A549 invasiveness at high concentrations (10 µM). The BPA-induced EMT was illustrated by morphologic changes, E/N-cadherin switch and vimentin/Snail-1/connexin(Cx)43 up-regulation in A549 populations. It was followed by enhancement of A549 drug-resistance. Corresponding effects of BPA were observed in prostate cancer cell populations. Concomitantly, we observed increased levels and perinuclear accumulation of estrogen-related receptor gamma (ERRγ) in BPA-treated cells, its interactions with Cx43/Snail-1, and the corresponding effects of phenol red on A549 cells. Collectively, these data identify a novel, pro-metastatic Snail-1/Cx43/ERRγ signaling pathway. Its reactivity to BPA underlies the induction of cancer cells' invasiveness in the presence of high BPA concentrations in vitro. Thus, the chronic exposition of cancer cells to extrinsic and intrinsic BPA should be considered as a potential obstacle in a cancer therapy.

The effect of bisphenol A on growth, pigment composition and photosystem II activity of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a widely used chemical, that can potentially be toxic to plants. In this study we examined the toxicity of 5-50 mg/l of BPA on Arabidopsis thaliana. Additionally, the effects of 0.5-5 mg/l of BPA were examined after four weeks of development. BPA had no effect on the germination rate and the chlorophyll a/b ratio. The chlorophyll a and carotenoid content was significantly elevated in seedlings treated with 5 mg/l of BPA. In 4-week-old plants there was no change in the chlorophyll and carotenoid content and photosynthetic parameters (Fv/Fm, Fv/F0 and PI) were unaffected, which suggests no photoinhibition. No oxidative stress symptoms were observed. BPA significantly decreased leaf protein content. A low concentration of BPA seems to have no significant effect on A. thaliana flowering, but further investigation is needed. The results obtained indicate that a low concentration of BPA has no negative effect on the growth and development of A. thaliana.