Bisphenol A sulfonation is impaired in metabolic and liver disease

Emine B. Yalcin, Supriya R. Kulkarni, Angela L. Slitt, Roberta King

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a widely used industrial chemical and suspected endocrine disruptor to which humans are ubiquitously exposed. Liver metabolizes and facilitates BPA excretion through glucuronidation and sulfonation. The sulfotransferase enzymes contributing to BPA sulfonation (detected in human and rodents) is poorly understood. To determine the impact of metabolic and liver disease on BPA sulfonation in human and mouse livers. The capacity for BPA sulfonation was determined in human liver samples that were categorized into different stages of metabolic and liver disease (including obesity, diabetes, steatosis, and cirrhosis) and in livers from ob/ob mice. In human liver tissues, BPA sulfonation was substantially lower in livers from subjects with steatosis (23%), diabetes cirrhosis (16%), and cirrhosis (18%), relative to healthy individuals with non-fatty livers (100%). In livers of obese mice (ob/ob), BPA sulfonation was lower (23%) than in livers from lean wild-type controls (100%). In addition to BPA sulfonation activity, Sult1a1 protein expression decreased by 97% in obese mouse livers. Taken together these findings establish a profoundly reduced capacity of BPA elimination via sulfonation in obese or diabetic individuals and in those with fatty or cirrhotic livers versus individuals with healthy livers.