Household Chemicals and Obesity: Wayne State Researchers Launch Major NIH-Funded Toxicology Study

On July 24, 2025, Detroit, MI - a new five-year, $3.6 million grant has been awarded to Dr. Christopher Kassotis at Wayne State University from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to study further how common chemical exposures in daily households may affect obesity and metabolic problems.

The Research Topic

Dr. Kassotis, an assistant professor in the Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the Department of Pharmacology at Wayne State, has previously published research demonstrating that a selection of commonly encountered chemicals in household dust, particularly potential exposures from household infectants, were able to stimulate fat cell formation (adipogenesis) in both cellular systems and also in zebrafish.

The chemicals of their research project are categorized as Metabolism Disrupting Chemicals (MDCs), which have been observed to have disrupted energy balance, promoted lipid accumulation, and disrupted metabolic homeostasis - thus contributing to obesity, typically referred to as an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure.

Furthermore, "non-toxic" replacement products (exp., fragrance-free cleaners) also induced negative responses that reflected such metabolic disruptions, revealing serious shortcomings in consumer product safety labeling.

Study Aims

The new NIH-funded study will address two preliminary scientific questions, including;

How do MDCs disrupt thyroid hormone signaling?

The thyroid is widely and well-known to have a significant role in metabolism and energy expenditure. Any disruption in thyroid hormone signaling can affect its regulation of weight gain and metabolic disease.

How do such chemical agents affect fat accumulation in the body?

MDCs can promote lipid accumulation and fat cell formation through two specific pathways:

Hyperplasia - where there is a proliferation of new fat cells (can be a healthy mechanism for fat accumulation), and

Hypertrophy - comprises lipid accumulation within existing fat cells and is typically associated with an unhealthy population of fat and with associated metabolic dysfunction (i.e., Obesity).

The Relevance to Medical Toxicology

This research is directly within the scope of medical and environmental toxicology research domains. Essentially, chronic low-dose chemical exposures, namely endocrine disruptors or agents disrupting metabolism, which are addressed in the research study and have effectively changed molecular pathways that control fat metabolism, thyroid function, and energy regulation, are of substantial concern.

Some relevant themes from the toxicology family are:

• Endocrine disruptor research

• Environmental obesogen assessments

• Chronic low-level monitoring of exposures

Mechanics of toxicology based on zebrafish and other in vitro models of research approach.

Implications for Public Health

The project can potentially identify new environmental risk factors for obesity and metabolic syndrome.

The results may suggest the possibilities of revising regulatory standards for household chemical safety.

The long-term goal is to improve the state of public health by reducing health care costs associated with obesity, currently estimated to represent ~10% of medical spending in the U.S.

The NIH grant number awarded for this study is ES036178.

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