Discovery in Biochemistry

Discovery in Biochemistry

Hello guys, remember in a previous entry that I was talking about Biochemistry? I have to say that I found good news about a discovery in this field that I want to share with you today.

    First, let’s recap what is biochemistry? Biochemistry is the branch of science that explores the chemical processes within and related to living organisms. It is a laboratory based science that brings together biology and chemistry. By using chemical knowledge and techniques, biochemists can understand and solve biological problems.

   In this field, according to a controversial new study by scientists and researchers at the University of Georgia in the United States found that de obesity can be provoked by environmental chemical conditions.  The exposure to some chemicals found every day in cleaning products, cosmetics and other types could affect the amount of fat stored in the body.

    

    Phthalates are one of the groups of substances that pollute more frequently households. They are substances of priority if we want to prevent health problems at home. They present in many products, from plastic objects soap, to nail polish. But an increasing number of analysis shows that these substances could be damaging the health of people, argues Lei Yin, University of Georgia (UGA) in the US city of Athens, and co-author of the research. According to her, the phthalate exposure could be associated very closely with the increased incidence of certain types of diseases, including obesity.

    As we know, obesity is currently one of the major problems in industrialized nations, and of course, the development of such obesity is contributed by both genetic components as food. However, as indicated Xiaozhong "John" Yu, co-author of the study, environmental exposure may also play a significant role.

    

    Since it had found levels of phthalates in human fluids in previous studies, the research team wanted to see if one in particular commonly known as BBP, had an effect on fat accumulation in cells. They used mouse cells to create in vitro models and with those models they could analyze how exposure to BBP affected the lipids place inside them. Some phthalates have been demonstrated that cause reproductive toxicity when exposure to them reaches high levels, but the link between a modest level of exposure, such as with BBP, and undue weight gain had not yet been thoroughly explored. The results of experiments on investigation indicate that the BBP caused a response in cells that promotes accumulation therein lipid droplets in such high amounts suggesting that BBP exposure could lead to obesity.

If you are want additional information of the research read the abstract of the research or go to references, copy and paste the links. Remember see the image and video below!!

Thank you,
Stephanie R.

Abstract:

Benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) has been known to induce developmental and reproductive toxicity. However, its association with dysregulation of adipogenesis has been poorly investigated. The present study aimed to examine the effect of BBP on the adipogenesis, and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms using the 3T3-L1 cells. The capacity of BBP to promote adipogenesis was evaluated by multiple staining approaches combined with a High Content Cellomics analysis. The dynamic changes of adipogenic regulatory genes and proteins were examined, and the metabolite profile was identified using GC/MC based metabolomic analysis. The High Content analysis showed BBP in contrast with Bisphenol A (BPA), a known environmental obesogen, increased lipid droplet accumulation in a similar dose-dependent manner. However, the size of the lipid droplets in BBP-treated cells was significantly larger than those in cells treated with BPA. BBP significantly induced mRNA expression of transcriptional factors C/EBPα and PPARγ, their downstream genes, and numerous adipogenic proteins in a dose and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, GC/MC metabolomic analysis revealed that BBP exposure perturbed the metabolic profiles that are associated with glyceroneogenesis and fatty acid synthesis. Altogether, our current study clearly demonstrates that BBP promoted the differentiation of 3T3-L1 through the activation of the adipogenic pathway and metabolic disturbance.

BBP

References:
http://noticiasdelaciencia.com/not/19258/-obesidad-provocada-por-causas-ambientales-quimicas-/
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887233316300108
http://www.hogarsintoxicos.org/es/riesgos/ftalatos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5jA4JWa9p8