Mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate induces the expression of genes involved in fatty acid synthesis in HepG2 cells

Mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP) is a major bioactive metabolite in the widely used industrial plasticizer diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) that has been found to be toxic to the liver. The aim of this study is to determine whether MEHP exposure can change the expression of fatty acid metabolism-related genes in HepG2 cells, which might be related to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The results revealed that exposure to MEHP promoted lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells. The levels of intracellular triglycerides in the hepatocytes increased after exposure to 0.8–100 μM MEHP for 24 h and 48 h. The genetic expressions of SREBP-1c, ChREBP, ACC1, FASN, and SCD significantly increased at 6 h after exposure to MEHP. At 24 h, the expression of the SREBP-1c and ChREBP genes remained increased, while the expression of the FASN and SCD genes decreased. At 48 h, the expression of SREBP-1c, ChREBP, ACC1, FASN, and SCD decreased. Furthermore, the levels of proteins including ACC1, FASN, SCD, and ChREBP (except SREBP-1c) increased at 24 h. These findings suggest that MEHP exposure can promote fatty acid synthesis in hepatocytes by regulating the expression of relevant genes and proteins, contributing to NAFLD.