Effects of single or combined exposure to bisphenol A and mono(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate on oxidant/antioxidant status, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and apoptosis in HepG2 cell line

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may affect many biological processes like growth and stress response. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a plasticizer that is used to harden plastics and polycarbonates. Phthalates are used to add flexibility to polyvinyl chloride containing plastics. The main metabolite of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP) and it is even more toxic than the parent compound. Humans are usually exposed to these chemicals in mixtures by different routes starting from fetal period. However, there are not many studies in literature that investigate the combined effects of these chemicals. The aim of this study is to investigate toxic effects of BPA and/or MEHP on HepG2 cell line. We have evaluated cytotoxicity, cytomorphological, apoptotic changes, oxidative stress, oxidant/antioxidant status alterations, and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Combined exposure to BPA and MEHP caused alterations in oxidant/antioxidant status and ER stress marker proteins in both cytoplasmic and nuclear cellular fractions. We can suggest that combined exposure to EDCs may cause serious toxicological outcomes and more mechanistic studies are needed to determine the combined toxic effects. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.