BPA Diglycidyl Ether Linked to Adipogenic Changes in Stem Cells

Researchers with the University of California, Irvine, have allegedly demonstrated that low doses of bisphenol A (BPA) diglycidyl ether (BADGE) can turn adult stem cells and pre-fat cells into fat cells, raising questions about the obesogenic effect of a chemical commonly used in food packaging materials. Raquel Chamorro-García, et al., “Bisphenol A Diglycidyl Ether Induces Adipogenic Differentiation of Multipotent Stromal Stem Cells Through a Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor Gamma-independent Mechanism,” Environmental Health Perspectives, May 2012. The study’s authors evidently used multipotent mesenchymal stromal stem cells (MSCs) to evaluate BADGE’s effects on “adipogenesis, osteogenesis, gene expression and nuclear receptor activation.” Their results purportedly indicated that BADGE, a combination of BPA and epichlorohydrin, can induce adipogenic differentiation in both MSCs and preadipocytes at low concentrations “comparable to those that have been observed in limited human biomonitoring.”

“There is an urgent need to understand the mechanisms underlying the predisposition to obesity and related disorders. In this study, we identified unexpectedly potent effects of a ubiquitously used chemical, BADGE, on adipogenesis in MSCs at nanomolar levels,” stated the researchers, who have urged further studies to analyze BADGE at “biologically realistic” concentrations. “While exposure data are currently limited, this is in the same range as reported human exposures. Therefore, it will be essential to determine the levels of BADGE and its routes of exposure, metabolism and retention in humans.”