Figure 5.

BPA or phthalate modulates target gene expression in inflammatory peritoneal macrophages via chromatin modification. Peritoneal macrophages were cultured in the presence of vehicle (V), BPA, or MEHP at 20 ng/mL for 48 hours and then subjected to inflammatory activation for an additional 12 hours. (A and B) Four hours before inflammatory stimulation, cells were pretreated with vehicle, TSA (25 nM), DAC (50 nM), or a combination of TSA and DAC. The relative level of gene expression was assessed by qPCR. Values represent the average fold induction of gene expression (± SD) in BPA or phthalate-exposed samples vs vehicle-treated controls. (C) H3K36 acetylation and dimethylation was assessed by immunofluorescence using the specific antibodies. The fluorescence intensities within the nuclei were quantified by Image J and expressed as mean ± SD. Statistical significance in BPA or phthalate-exposed samples vs vehicle-treated controls was analyzed by Student t test (>500 cells) from three independent experiments. *P < 0.01; ^#P < 0.05.