Abstract: Impacts of Bisphenol-A Exposure on HOX Gene Expression in Human Cells (2011 SACNAS National Conference)

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Hall 1-2 (San Jose Convention Center)

Rebecca Denney , Regulation and Disease Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX

Jonathan Comer , Department of Chemistry, University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, TX

Sahba Kasiri , Regulation and Disease Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX

Imran Hussain , Regulation and Disease Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX

Subhrangsu Mandal , Regulation and Disease Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX

Technological advances have brought a considerably amount of change to daily living with the introduction of new plastics, pesticides, and lubricants. However, many of these consumer products contain compounds later found to cause changes in gene expression and regulation. These compounds are categorized as endocrine disruptors, which are absorbed into normal human cells after exposure or use. Bisphenol-A or BPA is a well known endocrine disruptor found in many of the plastics used today including baby bottles, water bottles and kitchen storage containers. Because of this BPA is heavily observed in processed foods and drinking water. Trouble is this specific endocrine disruptor when introduced into our bodies mimics estrogen, a common human hormone. These effects and BPA are well known, however the genes involved have yet to be fully analyzed. In this work, we investigate the impact of BPA exposure on HOX gene expression in human cells. HOX genes are homeobox containing genes that play critical roles in cell differentiation and development. Studies from our laboratory and others have demonstrated that several HOX genes such as HOXC6, HOXC13 and HOXB9 are transcriptionally induced upon exposure to steroid hormone estrogen. Herein, our preliminary studies demonstrated that HOXC6 is transcriptionally upregulated upon exposure to BPA in human breast cancer cells. HOXC6 is a critical player in mammary gland development and is also over-expressed in breast and prostate cancer. Thus, misregulation of HOXC6 gene expression upon exposure to BPA indicates a potential link between BPA and human disease.