Structurally-diverse, PPARγ-activating environmental toxicants induce adipogenesis and suppress osteogenesis in bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells

Environmental obesogens are a newly recognized category of endocrine disrupting chemicals that have been implicated in contributing to the rising rates of obesity in the United States. While obesity is typically regarded as an increase in visceral fat, adipocyte accumulation in the bone has been linked to increased fracture risk, lower bone density, and osteoporosis. Exposure to environmental toxicants that activate peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ (PPARγ), a critical regulator of the balance of differentiation between adipogenesis and osteogenesis, may contribute to the increasing prevalence of osteoporosis. However, induction of adipogenesis and suppression of osteogenesis are separable activities of PPARγ, and ligands may selectively alter these activities. It currently is unknown whether suppression of osteogenesis is a common toxic endpoint of environmental PPARγ ligands. Using a primary mouse bone marrow culture model, we tested the hypothesis that environmental toxicants acting as PPARγ agonists divert the differentiation pathway of bone marrow-derived multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells towards adipogenesis and away from osteogenesis. The toxicants tested included the organotins tributyltin and triphenyltin, a ubiquitous phthalate metabolite (mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, MEHP), and two brominated flame retardants (tetrabromobisphenol-a, TBBPA, and mono-(2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate, METBP). All of the compounds activated PPARγ1 and 2. All compounds increased adipogenesis (lipid accumulation, Fabp4 expression) and suppressed osteogenesis (alkaline phosphatase activity, Osx expression) in mouse primary bone marrow cultures, but with different potencies and efficacies. Despite structural dissimilarities, there was a strong negative correlation between efficacies to induce adipogenesis and suppress osteogenesis, with the organotins being distinct in their exceptional ability to suppress osteogenesis. As human exposure to a mixture of toxicants is likely, albeit at low doses, the fact that multiple toxicants are capable of suppressing bone formation supports the hypothesis that environmental PPARγ ligands represent an emerging threat to human bone health.