Triphenyl phosphate induces lipid metabolism disorder and promotes obesity through PI3K/AKT signaling pathway

Triphenyl phosphate (TPHP) is a widely used organic phosphate flame retardant that has been reported as a potential environmental obesogen. However, the potential impact and mechanism of action of TPHP on adipose tissue are still unclear. This study investigates the potential impact of TPHP on lipid...

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Main Authors: Tianlan Li, Yiwa Liu, Jingyi Cao, Xianzhu Lu, Yinghan Lu, Yuhan Wang, Chunmei Zhang, Meifen Wu, Song Deng, Li Li, Ming Shi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-04-01
Series:Environment International
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025001795
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author Tianlan Li
Yiwa Liu
Jingyi Cao
Xianzhu Lu
Yinghan Lu
Yuhan Wang
Chunmei Zhang
Meifen Wu
Song Deng
Li Li
Ming Shi
author_facet Tianlan Li
Yiwa Liu
Jingyi Cao
Xianzhu Lu
Yinghan Lu
Yuhan Wang
Chunmei Zhang
Meifen Wu
Song Deng
Li Li
Ming Shi
author_sort Tianlan Li
collection DOAJ
description Triphenyl phosphate (TPHP) is a widely used organic phosphate flame retardant that has been reported as a potential environmental obesogen. However, the potential impact and mechanism of action of TPHP on adipose tissue are still unclear. This study investigates the potential impact of TPHP on lipid metabolism disorders through in vivo and in vitro experiments. Male and female BALB/c mice were exposed to TPHP (0, 1, 10, and 150 mg/kg/day) for 60 days, and 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were treated with concentrations of TPHP (0, 0.1, 1, 10 μM) during differentiation. The results showed that exposure to TPHP could cause gender specific dyslipidemia, with male mice exhibiting dose-dependent increases in inguinal adipose tissue coefficient, adipocyte hypertrophy, and upregulation of adipose differentiation and adipogenesis-related genes. In contrast, female mice did not show significant changes in tissue morphology. This suggested that TPHP might promote the potential occurrence of adiposity by disrupting the lipid metabolism homeostasis of male adipose tissue. During the differentiation and maturation process of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, exposure to TPHP led to increased lipid accumulation and disrupted lipid homeostasis by simultaneous activation adipogenesis and lipolysis. Multiple omics data showed that the activation of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) signaling pathway and fatty acid metabolism was the core mechanism of TPHP induced metabolic dysfunction. Further research showed that TPHP activated the PI3K/AKT pathway, and PI3K inhibitor (LY294002) could rescue TPHP induced lipid droplet formation and normalize the expression of adipogenic markers. These findings confirm that TPHP is a potential environmental obesogen that can disrupt the metabolic homeostasis of white adipose tissue through the PPARγ and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways, with higher susceptibility in males. This study provides compelling evidence for the obesogenic effects of TPHP and information for risk assessment of organophosphorus flame retardants.
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spelling doaj-art-3b9b2b9d7db04ba8925ef0282d62cfc22025-08-20T02:12:10ZengElsevierEnvironment International0160-41202025-04-0119810942810.1016/j.envint.2025.109428Triphenyl phosphate induces lipid metabolism disorder and promotes obesity through PI3K/AKT signaling pathwayTianlan Li0Yiwa Liu1Jingyi Cao2Xianzhu Lu3Yinghan Lu4Yuhan Wang5Chunmei Zhang6Meifen Wu7Song Deng8Li Li9Ming Shi10Dongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, The First Dongguan Affiliated Hospital, School of Public Health, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan 523808 Guangdong Province, ChinaDongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, The First Dongguan Affiliated Hospital, School of Public Health, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan 523808 Guangdong Province, ChinaDongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, The First Dongguan Affiliated Hospital, School of Public Health, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan 523808 Guangdong Province, ChinaDongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, The First Dongguan Affiliated Hospital, School of Public Health, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan 523808 Guangdong Province, ChinaDongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, The First Dongguan Affiliated Hospital, School of Public Health, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan 523808 Guangdong Province, ChinaDongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, The First Dongguan Affiliated Hospital, School of Public Health, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan 523808 Guangdong Province, ChinaDongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, The First Dongguan Affiliated Hospital, School of Public Health, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan 523808 Guangdong Province, ChinaDongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, The First Dongguan Affiliated Hospital, School of Public Health, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan 523808 Guangdong Province, ChinaDongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, The First Dongguan Affiliated Hospital, School of Public Health, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan 523808 Guangdong Province, ChinaCorresponding authors.; Dongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, The First Dongguan Affiliated Hospital, School of Public Health, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan 523808 Guangdong Province, ChinaCorresponding authors.; Dongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, The First Dongguan Affiliated Hospital, School of Public Health, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan 523808 Guangdong Province, ChinaTriphenyl phosphate (TPHP) is a widely used organic phosphate flame retardant that has been reported as a potential environmental obesogen. However, the potential impact and mechanism of action of TPHP on adipose tissue are still unclear. This study investigates the potential impact of TPHP on lipid metabolism disorders through in vivo and in vitro experiments. Male and female BALB/c mice were exposed to TPHP (0, 1, 10, and 150 mg/kg/day) for 60 days, and 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were treated with concentrations of TPHP (0, 0.1, 1, 10 μM) during differentiation. The results showed that exposure to TPHP could cause gender specific dyslipidemia, with male mice exhibiting dose-dependent increases in inguinal adipose tissue coefficient, adipocyte hypertrophy, and upregulation of adipose differentiation and adipogenesis-related genes. In contrast, female mice did not show significant changes in tissue morphology. This suggested that TPHP might promote the potential occurrence of adiposity by disrupting the lipid metabolism homeostasis of male adipose tissue. During the differentiation and maturation process of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes, exposure to TPHP led to increased lipid accumulation and disrupted lipid homeostasis by simultaneous activation adipogenesis and lipolysis. Multiple omics data showed that the activation of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) signaling pathway and fatty acid metabolism was the core mechanism of TPHP induced metabolic dysfunction. Further research showed that TPHP activated the PI3K/AKT pathway, and PI3K inhibitor (LY294002) could rescue TPHP induced lipid droplet formation and normalize the expression of adipogenic markers. These findings confirm that TPHP is a potential environmental obesogen that can disrupt the metabolic homeostasis of white adipose tissue through the PPARγ and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways, with higher susceptibility in males. This study provides compelling evidence for the obesogenic effects of TPHP and information for risk assessment of organophosphorus flame retardants.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025001795Triphenyl phosphate3T3-L1 preadipocytesLipid metabolismAdipogenic differentiationPI3K/AKT signaling pathway
spellingShingle Tianlan Li
Yiwa Liu
Jingyi Cao
Xianzhu Lu
Yinghan Lu
Yuhan Wang
Chunmei Zhang
Meifen Wu
Song Deng
Li Li
Ming Shi
Triphenyl phosphate induces lipid metabolism disorder and promotes obesity through PI3K/AKT signaling pathway
Environment International
Triphenyl phosphate
3T3-L1 preadipocytes
Lipid metabolism
Adipogenic differentiation
PI3K/AKT signaling pathway
title Triphenyl phosphate induces lipid metabolism disorder and promotes obesity through PI3K/AKT signaling pathway
title_full Triphenyl phosphate induces lipid metabolism disorder and promotes obesity through PI3K/AKT signaling pathway
title_fullStr Triphenyl phosphate induces lipid metabolism disorder and promotes obesity through PI3K/AKT signaling pathway
title_full_unstemmed Triphenyl phosphate induces lipid metabolism disorder and promotes obesity through PI3K/AKT signaling pathway
title_short Triphenyl phosphate induces lipid metabolism disorder and promotes obesity through PI3K/AKT signaling pathway
title_sort triphenyl phosphate induces lipid metabolism disorder and promotes obesity through pi3k akt signaling pathway
topic Triphenyl phosphate
3T3-L1 preadipocytes
Lipid metabolism
Adipogenic differentiation
PI3K/AKT signaling pathway
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025001795
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