Integrating network toxicology and experimental validation reveals the immunotoxic effects of acetylcitric acid tributyl ester on systemic lupus erythematosus - PubMed
5 hours ago
- #autoimmune diseases
- #immunotoxicology
- #environmental pollutants
- Study uses network toxicology and experiments to show acetyl tributyl citrate (ATBC) worsens immune toxicity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
- ATBC binds to key proteins like STAT3, BCL2, and GSK3β, with lower toxicity thresholds in SLE patient cells (IC50 49.8 μM) than healthy cells (68.7 μM).
- Exposure increases oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-6) while reducing anti-inflammatory IL-10, especially in SLE.
- Mechanism involves ROS-induced DNA damage and reduced TREX1, activating the cGAS-STING pathway and disrupting survival/inflammatory markers.
- Findings highlight ATBC as an environmental trigger for SLE via redox imbalance and DNA-sensing, assessing risks of 'safe' plasticizers in autoimmune diseases.