UV-B filter octylmethoxycinnamate impaired the main vasorelaxant mechanism of human umbilical artery

Abstract

Personal care products (PCPs) are a group of diverse substances widely used daily for health, beauty, and cleanliness. More than 90% of all PCPs contain the UV-B filter octylmethoxycinnamate (OMC) as a protective function, however, their safety has recently been questioned. The purpose of the present work was to understand how the long-term exposure of UV-filter OMC, used daily by pregnant women, disrupts their vascular homeostasis, altering vascular responses of proteins and channels involved in contractile processes. The long-term effects of 24 h of exposure to OMC (1, 10, and 50 μmol/L) were evaluated on contractile responses of human umbilical arteries (HUA) to serotonin and potassium chloride. Since OMC altered vascular homeostasis of arteries, its vascular mode of action was explored in more detail through the analysis of the activity of cGMP and Ca²⁺-channels, two pathways involved in their relaxation and contraction, respectively. Our findings showed that long-term exposure of UV-filter OMC impaired the main vasorelaxant mechanism of HUA, once OMC altered the vasorelaxant response pattern of sodium nitroprusside and nifedipine. Results also showed that long-term exposure to OMC induced a decreased vasorelaxation response on HUA due to an interference with the NO/sGC/cGMP/PKG pathway. Moreover, OMC seems to modulate the L-type Ca²⁺ channels, the BKCa 1.1 α-subunit channels, and the PKG. Overall, since OMC compromises the vascular homeostasis of pregnant women it can be an inductor of pregnancy hypertensive disorders.

Keywords: Calcium channels; Endocrine disruptor compound; Nitric oxide; Personal care product; Pregnancy hypertensive disorders; Vascular homeostasis.