Abstract
We investigated the ability of group 15 compounds with a triphenyl substituent to bind to and activate human retinoic X receptor (RXR) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) γ and their ability to activate the receptor. Triphenylphosphine oxide (TPPO) transcriptionally activated both RXR and PPARγ. Triphenylbismuth (TPBi) transcriptionally activated PPARγ but not RXR. However, TPBi significantly inhibited RXR transcriptional activity induced by 9-cis retinoic acid (9cRA) and PPARγ transcriptional activity induced by rosiglitazone (Rosi). Triphenylarsine (TPAs) also significantly inhibited the 9cRA- and Rosi-induced transcriptional activity of both receptors, whereas TPAs alone had no effect on the transcriptional activity of RXR and PPARγ. Consistent with these results, TPAs and TPBi blocked the binding of [3H]9cRA to RXR and of [3H]Rosi to PPARγ in a competitive manner. However, contrary to the results of the reporter gene assay, TPPO did not compete with [3H]9cRA and [3H]Rosi for binding to RXR and PPARγ, respectively. Our findings indicate that 1) TPPO is a transcriptional activator—but not a ligand—of RXR and PPARγ; 2) TPBi is an antagonist of RXR and a partial agonist of PPARγ; and 3) TPAs is a dual antagonist of RXR and PPARγ. These results suggest that TPPO, TPAs, and TPBi are potential endocrine disrupters of the PPARγ–RXR signaling pathway.
