Environmental Obesogens and Their Perturbations in Lipid Metabolism

Epidemiological data show that obesity is now a pandemic.Lipid homeostasis requires the coordination of multiple tissues and organs,including the liver,kidney,cardiovascular system,and adipose tissues,to maintain bodily homeostasis.As increasing amounts of chemicals are being synthesized,applied,and released into the environment,their obesogenic effects have triggered serious concern.Currently,more than 50 types of chemicals with high human exposure levels have been identified as environmental obesogens that can interfere with lipid metabolism and induce obesity.Experimental studies have shown that the lipid metabolism interference effects of obesogens have multiple targets,including nuclear receptors,transcription factors,cytokines,and hormones.The interfering factors of environmental obesogeninduced obesity include transgenerational effects,susceptibility windows,gender differences,structure−effect relationships,and diet habits.Various research approaches have been established to conduct obesogenic effect research.This comprehensive review summarizes the mechanisms underlying obesogen actions and the research progress on obesogen-disrupted lipid metabolism,along with the influencing factors and research approaches,aiming to provide a framework for understanding the effects of environmental obesogens on lipid metabolism.

Sex-dependent obesogenic effect of tetracycline on Drosophila melanogaster deteriorated by dysrhythmia

Antibiotics have been identified as obesogens contributing to the prevalence of obesity.Moreover,their environmental toxicity shows sex dependence,which might also explain the sex-dependent obesity observed.Yet,the direct evidence for such a connection and the underlying mechanisms remain to be explored.In this study,the effects of tetracycline,which is a representative antibiotic found in both environmental and food samples,on Drosophila melanogaster were studied with consideration of both sex and circadian rhythms(represented by the eclosion rhythm).Results showed that in morning-eclosed adults,tetracycline significantly stimulated the body weight of females(AM females)at 0.1,1.0,10.0 and 100.0μg/L,while tetracycline only stimulated the body weight of males(AM males)at 1.0μg/L.In the afternoon-eclosed adults,tetracycline significantly stimulated the body weight of females(PM females)at 0.1,1.0 and 100.0μg/L,while it showed more significant stimulation in males(PM males)at all concentrations.Notably,the stimulation levels were the greatest in PMmales among all the adults.The results showed the clear sex dependence of the obesogenic effects,which was diminished by dysrhythmia.Further biochemical assays and clustering analysis suggested that the sex-and rhythm-dependent obesogenic effects resulted from the bias toward lipogenesis against lipolysis.Moreover,theywere closely related to the preference for the energy storage forms of lactate and glucose and also to the presence of excessive insulin,with the involvement of glucolipid metabolism.Such relationships indicated potential bridges between the obesogenic effects of pollutants and other diseases,e.g.,cancer and diabetes.

Gasoline-derived methyl tert-butyl ether as a potential obesogen linked to metabolic syndrome

The power and efficiency of gasoline engines is often improved through the use of fuel with high octane ratings.The octane rating of fuel could be further increased with oxygenate additives such as alcohols and ethers,with methyl tert-butyl ether(MTBE)being one of the most common gasoline additives.