Influence of metabolism on endocrine activities of bisphenol S.

Bisphenol S (BPS; bis[4-hydroxyphenyl]sulfone) is commonly used as a replacement for bisphenol A in numerous consumer products. The main goal of this study was to examine the influence of different metabolic reactions that BPS undergoes on the endocrine activity. We demonstrate that hydroxylation of the aromatic ring of BPS, catalyzed mainly by the cytochrome P450 enzymes CYP3A4 and CYP2C9, is its major in-vitro phase I biotransformation. Nevertheless, coupled oxidative-conjugative reactions analyses revealed that glucuronidation and formation of BPS glucuronide is the predominant BPS metabolic pathway. BPS reactive metabolites that can be tracked as glutathione conjugates were not detected in the present study. Two in-vitro systems were used to evaluate the endocrine activity of BPS and its two main metabolites, BPS glucuronide and hydroxylated BPS 4-(4-hydroxy-benzenesulfonyl)-benzene-1,2-diol (BPSM1). In addition, we have tested two structural analogs of BPS, bis[4-(2-hydroxyetoxy)phenyl]sulfone (BHEPS) and 4,4-sulfonylbis(2-methylphenol) (dBPS). The test systems were yeast cells, for evaluating estrogenic and androgenic activities, and the GH3.TRE-Luc reporter cell line for measuring thyroid hormone activity. BPS and BPSM1 were weak agonists of the estrogen receptor, EC50 values of 8.4 × 10(-5) M and 6.7 × 10(-4) M, respectively. Additionally, BPSM1 exhibited weak antagonistic activity toward the thyroid hormone receptor, with an IC50 of 4.3 × 10(-5) M. In contrast to BPSM1, BPS glucuronide was inactive in these assays, inhibiting neither the estrogen nor the thyroid hormone receptors. Hence, glucuronidation appears to be the most important pathway for both BPS metabolism and detoxification.

Estrogenic and androgenic activities of TBBA and TBMEPH, metabolites of novel brominated flame retardants, and selected bisphenols, using the XenoScreen XL YES/YAS assay.

The present study investigated and compared the estrogenic and androgenic activities of the three different classes of environmental pollutants and their metabolites using the XenoScreen XL YES/YAS assay, which has advantages compared with the original YES/YAS protocol. Contrary to the parent brominated flame retardants TBB and TBPH, which demonstrated no or very weak (anti)estrogenic or (anti)androgenic activities, their metabolites, TBBA and TBMEPH, exhibited anti-estrogenic (IC50 for TBBA=31.75 µM and IC50 for TBMEPH=0.265 µM) and anti-androgenic (IC50 for TBBA=73.95 µM and IC50 for TBMEPH=2.92 µM) activities. These results reveal that metabolism can enhance the anti-estrogenic and anti-androgenic effects of these two novel brominated flame retardants. Based on the activities of BPAF, BPF, BPA and MBP, we can conclude that the XenoScreen XL YES/YAS assay gives comparable results to the (anti)estrogenic or (anti)androgenic assays that are reported in the literature. For BPA, it was confirmed previously that the metabolite formed after an ipso-reaction (hydroxycumyl alcohol) exhibited higher estrogenic activity compared with the parent BPA, but this was not confirmed for BPAF and BPF ipso-metabolites, which were not active in the XenoScreen YES/YAS assay. Among the substituted BPA analogues, bis-GMA exhibited weak anti-estrogenic activity, BADGE demonstrated weak anti-estrogenic and anti-androgenic activities (IC50=13.73 µM), and the hydrolysed product BADGE·2H2O demonstrated no (anti)estrogenic or (anti)androgenic activities.

Mutagenicity and DNA damage of bisphenol A and its structural analogues in HepG2 cells.

Environmental oestrogen bisphenol A (BPA) and its analogues are widespread in our living environment. Because their production and use are increasing, exposure of humans to bisphenols is becoming a significant issue. We evaluated the mutagenic and genotoxic potential of eight BPA structural analogues (BPF, BPAF, BPZ, BPS, DMBPA, DMBPS, BP-1, and BP-2) using the Ames and comet assay, respectively. None of the tested bisphenols showed a mutagenic effect in Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100 in either the presence or absence of external S9-mediated metabolic activation (Aroclor 1254-induced male rat liver). Potential genotoxicity of bisphenols was determined in the human hepatoma cell line (HepG2) at non-cytotoxic concentrations (0.1 µmol L(-1) to 10 µmol L(-1)) after 4-hour and 24-hour exposure. In the comet assay, BPA and its analogue BPS induced significant DNA damage only after the 24-hour exposure, while analogues DMBPS, BP-1, and BP-2 induced a transient increase in DNA strand breaks.

Dual Inhibitor of MurD and MurE Ligases from Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.

MurD and MurE ligases, consecutive enzymes participating in the intracellular steps of bacterial peptidoglycan biosynthesis, are important targets for antibacterial drug discovery. We have designed, synthesized, and evaluated the first d-glutamic acid-containing dual inhibitor of MurD and MurE ligases from Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus (IC50 values between 6.4 and 180 µM) possessing antibacterial activity against Gram-positive S. aureus and its methicillin-resistant strain (MRSA) with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 8 µg/mL. The inhibitor was also found to be noncytotoxic for human HepG2 cells at concentrations below 200 µM.