Negative effects of endocrine disruptor bisphenol A on ovarian granulosa cells and the protective role of folic acid

Abstract

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disruptor (ED), widely used as a comonomer or an additive in the plastics industry. It can be found in food and beverage plastic packaging, epoxy resins, thermal paper and other common products. To date, there have only been several experimental studies to have examined how BPA exposure affects human and mammalian follicular granulosa cells (GCs) in vitro and in vivo; the collected evidence data show that BPA negatively affects the GCs by altering steroidogenesis and gene expression, inducing autophagy, apoptosis and cellular oxidative stress through reactive oxygen species production. Exposure to BPA can also lead to abnormally constrained or elevated cellular proliferation and can even reduce cell viability. Therefore, research on EDs such as BPA is important as it provides some important insights into the causes and development of infertility, ovarian cancer and other conditions related to impaired ovarian and GC function. Folic acid, a biologic form of vitamin B9, is a methyl donor that can neutralize the toxic effects of the BPA exposure and is, as a common food supplement, an interesting option for researching its protective role against ubiquitous harmful EDs such as BPA.