In vitro estrogenic activity of binary and multicomponent mixtures with bisphenol A

• Published in: The Science of the total environment 2020-03, Vol.707, p.135211, Article 135211
• Main Authors: Skledar, Darja Gramec, Mašič, Lucija Peterlin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Benzhydryl Compounds - metabolism; Bisphenols; Concentration addition; Estrogenic activity; Estrogens; Estrone; Mixtures; Phenols - metabolism
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135211

[Display omitted] •Bisphenols exhibited estrogenic activities in OECD validated transactivation assay.•Estrogenic activities of mixtures with BPA followed a concentration addition model.•‘Something from nothing’ phenomenon was confirmed for mixture of the six bisphenols.•Mixture effects should be considered in the risk assessment of chemicals. Bisphenol A and its analogs are environmental contaminants with well known estrogenic and anti-androgenic activities. In studies of human biomonitoring, simultaneous exposure to multiple bisphenols was shown in different biological samples, at picomolar to low nanomolar concentrations. Evaluation of their combined toxicities will therefore be a more realistic and reliable predictor for estimation of health risks than evaluation of only the single chemicals. In the present study, estrogenic activities of individual bisphenols were evaluated, along with their binary and multicomponent mixtures including three- and four-component mixtures, using the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development validated transactivation assay with the hERα-Hela9903 cell line. Concentration-dependent estrogenic activity was confirmed for all of the tested bisphenols, in the nanomolar to micromolar range. Estrogenic activities of binary and multicomponent mixtures followed a concentration addition model. Although exposure to individual bisphenols remains below their effective doses, we demonstrate that as a mixture, they can contribute additively to toxicity. This study thus emphasizes the importance of mixture toxicity evaluation for risk assessment of compounds that act like the bisphenols.