Nutrient-Sensing Ghrelin Receptor in Macrophages Modulates Bisphenol A-Induced Intestinal Inflammation in Mice

Bisphenols are environmental toxins with endocrine disruptor activity, yet bisphenol A (BPA) and its analogs are still widely used in manufacturing plastic products. There is evidence showing that BPA elicits inflammation in humans and animals, but the target cell types of BPA are not well understood. In this study, we sought to determine BPA’s direct effect on macrophages and BPA immunotoxicity in mouse intestine. Ghrelin is an important nutrient-sensing hormone, acting through its receptor growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR) to regulate metabolism and inflammation. We found that BPA promotes intestinal inflammation, showing increased infiltrating immune cells in colons and enhanced expression of Ghsr and pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, such as Il6 and Ccl2, in colonic mucosa. Moreover, we found that both long- and short-term BPA exposure elevated pro-inflammatory monocytes and macrophages in mouse peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and peritoneal macrophages (PM), respectively. To determine the role of GHSR in BPA-mediated inflammation, we generated Ghsr deletion mutation in murine macrophage RAW264.7 using CRISPR gene editing. In wild-type RAW264.7 cells, the BPA exposure promotes macrophage pro-inflammatory polarization and increases Ghsr and cytokine/chemokine Il6 and Ccl2 expression. Interestingly, Ghsr deletion mutants showed a marked reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokine/chemokine expression in response to BPA, suggesting that GHSR is required for the BPA-induced pro-inflammatory response. Further understanding how nutrient-sensing GHSR signaling regulates BPA intestinal immunotoxicity will help design new strategies to mitigate BPA immunotoxicity and provide policy guidance for BPA biosafety.