Bisphenol S Promotes the Formation of Visceral Fat in Mice

Bisphenol S (BPS) is a bisphenol A (BPA) replacement that is widely present in the environment and in humans. The association between obesity and BPS has been reported in epidemiological studies; however, the obesogenic effect and related mechanism of BPS remain poorly understood. In this study, high-resolution microcomputed tomography analysis showed that the volume of visceral fat was significantly increased in BPS-treated mice. Moreover, BPS showed a higher potency to induce visceral fat formation in mice than BPA at the exposure concentration of 5 mg/kg/day for 14 days. Nontargeted metabolomic analysis showed that BPS exposure induced multiple metabolic disorders in the livers of BPS-treated mice. Interestingly, the body weight and volumes of visceral fat returned to normal by co-treatment with succinate in BPS-treated mice, suggesting that succinate might be the key molecule for the link between BPS and visceral obesity. Our findings highlight that BPS may act as an environmental obesogen to promote obesity.