Phthalates Regulates Hepatic Energy Metabolism Through PPAR-alpha!

Title: The pollutant di-ethyl-hexyl-phthalate regulates hepatic energy metabolism via species-specific pparα-dependent mechanisms.

Summary: "DEHP slightly promotes weight gain in PPARα-humanized mice. Consistent with this
observation, the urinary concentrations of phthalates metabolites have been recently positively
correlated with obesity and insulin resistance in humans.  Our results clearly demonstrate that these effects are most likely not linked to activation of PPARγ and adipogenesis in the adipose tissue but potentially to low hepatic oxidative metabolism." Note in this study, the effect of phthalates in this study is different in mice that are wild-type vs. mice that are altered to be human-type models. It is also important to mention that PPAR-alpha is an important protein that is associated with mitochondrial function.

Citation: Feige, J. N., Gerber, A., Casals-Casas, C., Yang, Q., Winkler, C., Bedu, E., Bueno, M., Gelman, L., Auwerx, J., and Frank (2009). The pollutant di-ethyl-hexyl-phthalate regulates hepatic energy metabolism via species-specific pparα-dependent mechanisms. Environmental Health Perspectives. http://www.citeulike.org/group/7833/article/5916157