Therapeutic potential of hydroxytyrosol against bisphenol S-induced toxicity to microglia via targeting cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1)

Background Bisphenol S (BPS) is widely used in consumer products and food packaging, but its safety and potential risks have garnered increasing attention. Hydroxytyrosol (HT), a natural polyphenolic compound with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, is yet to be investigated for its potential to reverse BPS-induced effects and the underlying mechanistic pathways. Methods The toxicological potential of BPS was assessed using the computational platform ProTox 3.0. Molecular experiments were performed to elucidate the effects of BPS on the nervous system. Protein-protein interaction networks were constructed to predict the targets of BPS. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were used to explore the potential mechanisms of action, followed by molecular docking studies. We examined the therapeutic efficacy of HT against BPS-induced nerve damage using molecular assays and in vivo murine models. The key target identified by molecular docking was validated using RT-qPCR. Results Significant neurotoxic effects of BPS were identified using platform-based predictive analysis. The experimental results demonstrated that exposure to BPS not only reduced the viability of BV2 and HMC3 microglial and elevated intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, but also induced a phenotypic shift in microglia toward a pro-inflammatory state, thereby may underscore its neurotoxic effects. Based on the results of the network toxicology analysis, BPS is potentially capable of exacerbating nerve damage via its modulatory effects, such as its modulation of cytochrome P450 Family 1 Subfamily A (CYP1A), like-CYP1A1, CYP1A2, and cytochrome P450 Family 2 Subfamily B6 (CYP2B6), etc. Finally, subsequent confirmation using network pharmacology and molecular docking analysis revealed that HT is capable of counteracting BPS-induced effects, and that CYP1A1 is highly likely to be a pivotal target implicated in both BPS-mediated toxicity in microglia and the therapeutic mechanisms of HT. This was further verified using RT-qPCR. Conclusion CYP1A1 is a critical mediator of BPS-induced toxicity and a potential therapeutic target of HT. These findings highlight the potential of natural compounds to mitigate environmental toxicant-induced neurological damage.