Genetic considerations in bisphenol F (BPF) exposures

Bisphenols are endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) used in consumer and industrial products. Exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), the most well-known bisphenol found in plastics, can cause the development of obesity and obesity-related disorders. Bisphenol F (BPF) is a chemical with similar structure to BPA and is increasingly used in consumer products, such as epoxy resins and dental sealants. Unlike BPA, no regulations exist on the use of BPF. New research shows that BPF exposure can cause negative effects to nearly every body system, but BPF’s effects on metabolic health are vastly unknown. Human studies report wide ranges of bisphenol exposure levels around the globe, which may mean that an individual’s genetic background helps determine how a bisphenol affects their health. Studying complex interactions between genetics and an environmental chemical is difficult in humans, so we used the Heterogeneous Stock (HS) rats, a rat population with genetic diversity similar to human populations. Our hypothesis is that BPF effects are determined by the genetic susceptibility of the exposed individual, meaning that exposure outcomes may differ between people due to their unique genetic profile. Our studies have uncovered new traits that can be studied with the HS rat population and its founder strains, that genetic background influences BPF exposure outcomes in the HS rat founder strains, and that BPF can promote obesity development in the HS rat population. Overall, our work demonstrates that considering genetics in EDC exposure studies is pivotal in result interpretation and will be important for determining environmental health risks.