Food contact materials as possible endocrine disruptors for PPARs: a consensus scoring analysis

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), with the alpha, beta/delta and gamma isoforms, are nuclear receptors that control the expression of genes involved in glucose and lipids' metabolism and into inflammatory processes and play a central role in metabolic syndrome. PPARs are a particular class of nuclear receptors because of their larger and more flexible ligand-binding domain with a particular Y shape. As nuclear receptors, PPARs are sensitive to exposure to xenobiotic compounds, called endocrine disruptions, even at low concentrations that could alter their homeostasis. Among these, food contact materials (FCMs), like phthalates, are synthetic compounds able to migrate from packaging to food and represent a significant source of exposure because of the increased use of plastic in the packaging in the last years. Through multiple docking and consensus scoring, we can analyse the ligand-binding domain's chemical and physical features, understand the mechanism of activation and predict the interaction with possible endocrine disruptions with an evaluation of their effects.