Bisphenol A (4,4-(propane-2,2-diyl)diphenol, or BPA), an industrial compound used in the production of many plastics, acts as a xenoestrogen in humans and sees near ubiquitous exposure. In the body, BPA is primarily metabolized through glucuronidation and excreted rapidly through urine. This process is catalyzed by UDP-glucuronosyltransferase(UGT) enzymes, a class of 19 isoenzymes categorized into UGT1A and UGT2B variations. Inhibition of these enzymes, predominately UGT2B15, causes BPA to remain in the body and produce toxic effects linked to diabetes, obesity, and birth defects. An in vitro study examined the effect of UGT2B15 on BPA glucuronidation. Compounds were quantified using a liquid chromatograph mass spectrometer. Results confirmed that the LC/MS/MS method devised could accurately and reliably identify BPA and BPA-G from standard peaks of both BPA(R2=0.9795 ,7.25mins) and BPA-G(R2=0.9965 ,3.14mins). Enzyme assays were performed with UGT2B15 and tested over time to determine the incubation time(60 mins) needed to obtain kinetic parameters which differed from previously cited incubation times(20 mins). Incubation of BPA with UGT2B15 produced a much greater peak for BPA-gluc compared to UGT1A9, reaffirming the enzymes role as a major catalyst. This information will be used to in future enzyme assays to plot a michaelis-menten chart for BPA glucuronidation, and future research will examine the inhibition effect of over-the-counter drugs on BPA glucuronidation.
