The commonly used nonionic surfactant Span 80 has RXR alpha transactivation activity, which likely increases the obesogenic potential of oil dispersants and food emulsifiers

摘要

Obesity has reached pandemic proportions, and there is mounting evidence that environmental exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals known as "obesogens" may contribute to obesity and associated medical conditions. The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill resulted in a massive environmental release of crude oil and remediation efforts applied large quantities of Corexit dispersants to the oil spill. The Corexit-enhanced Water Accommodated Fraction (CWAF) of DWH crude oil contains PPAR gamma transactivation activity, which is attributed to dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate (DOSS), a probable obesogen. In addition to its use in oil dispersants, DOSS is commonly used as a stool softener and food additive. Because PPAR gamma functions as a heterodimer with RXR alpha to transcriptionally regulate adipogenesis we investigated the potential of CWAF to transactivate RXR alpha and herein demonstrated that the Corexit component Span 80 has RXR alpha transactivation activity. Span 80 bound to RXR alpha in the low micromolar range and promoted adipocyte differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Further, the combination of DOSS and Span 80 increased 3T3-L1 adipocyte differentiation substantially more than treatment with either chemical individually, likely increasing the obesogenic potential of Corexit dispersants. From a public health standpoint, the use of DOSS and Span 80 as food additives heightens concerns regarding their use and mandates further investigations. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.