MINNEAPOLIS — Common household cleaners and pharmaceutical products — like antibacterial wipes, hand sanitizer, and antibacterial ointment — contain benzalkonium chlorides (BACs), a type of disinfectant also widely used in medical and commercial settings. According to a study presented today at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET), exposure to these compounds caused changes in gut microbiome composition in mice, as well as the genes that encode for liver enzymes that metabolize drugs.
The study, conducted by Vanessa A. Lopez, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Washington, exposed mice to a cocktail of BACs matching the composition of common household disinfectant products for 31 days. At the end of this period, the mice’s guts were analyzed for alpha and beta diversity metrics, and the mice’s livers underwent RNA sequencing.
Notably, the researchers observed sex differences in both the gut microbiome and the production of liver enzymes. In male mice, the researchers observed a slight increase in alpha diversity — an indication of a healthy gut — and in female mice, a stark decrease.
Additionally, in male mice, the gene expression of drug-metabolizing liver enzymes increased, while in female mouse livers, they decreased. This could mean that the female livers, because they were involved in metabolizing BACs, became less able to metabolize drugs, vitamins, and other compounds that are processed by the liver; or it could point to potential drug-drug interactions caused by exposure to BACs. The liver enzymes observed in the mice are also involved in cholesterol biosynthesis, suggesting that BACs could also affect the amount of cholesterol that the mice produce.
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“This study showed that even a low-dose, chronic exposure to BACS led to significant changes in the gut and liver,” said Dr. Lopez. “We were surprised to see a stark difference between male and female mice in this study. The data suggest that females could be more negatively affected by these common compounds than males, but more research on this topic is needed to understand how the liver and gut mechanisms work together.”
BACS were approved for widespread usage in the 1950s. In addition to consumer products, they are used in surgical disinfection and commercial cleaning. They are part of a class of compounds that are currently under FDA review for safety and efficacy.
(Newswise/T)
