Associations of persistent organic pollutants in human adipose tissue with retinoid levels and their relevance to the redox microenvironment

This work was supported by research grants from CIBER de Epidemiologia y Salud Publica (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Junta de Andalucia, European Regional Development Fund-FEDER (PI16/01858, PI16/01812, PI20/01568 and PI-13/02406) and Generalitat Valenciana. Dr. G Cakmak is awarded a grant by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK-2219). Dr. JP Arrebola is under contract within the Ramón y Cajal Program (RYC-2016-20155, Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad, Spain).
These results would not have been achieved without the selfless collaboration of the staff from Santa Ana and San Cecilio Hospitals and the participants who took part in the study.
Humans are exposed to a myriad of chemical substances in both occupational and environmental settings. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have drawn attention for their adverse effects including cancer and endocrine disruption. Herein, the objectives were 1) to describe serum and adipose tissue retinol levels, along with serum retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) concentrations, and 2) to assess the associations of adipose tissue POP levels with these retinoid parameters, as well as their potential interaction with the previously-observed POP-related disruption of redox microenvironment. Retinol was measured in both serum and adipose tissue along with RBP4 levels in serum samples of 236 participants of the GraMo adult cohort. Associations were explored by multivariable linear regression analyses and Weighted Quantile Sum regression. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) 180, 153 and 138 were related to decreased adipose tissue retinol levels and increased serum RBP4/retinol ratio. Dicofol concentrations > limit of detection were associated with decreased retinol levels in serum and adipose tissue. Additionally, increased adipose tissue retinol levels were linked to an attenuation in previously-reported associations of adipose tissue PCB-153 with in situ superoxide dismutase activity. Our results revealed a suggestive link between retinoids, PCBs and redox microenvironment, potentially relevant for both mechanistic and public health purposes.
CIBER de Epidemiologia y Salud Publica (CIBERESP)
Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Junta de Andalucia
European Commission PI16/01858 PI16/01812 PI20/01568 PI-13/02406
Generalitat Valenciana
European Commission
Turkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) TUBITAK-2219
Ramon y Cajal Program (Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad, Spain) RYC-2016-20155