박지서 (경북대학교)

윤영란 (경북대학교)

박지서 (경북대학교)

권미리 (경북대학교)

이혜원 (경북대학교)

이덕희 (경북대학교)

성숙진 (경북대학교)

윤영란 (경북대학교)

Vitamin D (VD) plays key roles in endocrine regulation, anti-inflammatory effects, and antioxidant activity. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), which degrade slowly and persist in the environment, can disrupt endocrine function. POP exposure has been shown to affect the active metabolites of VD, which act like hormones in the body. Therefore, we investigated changes in endogenous metabolites related to VD activity in relation to POP exposure. Plasma samples from 53 individuals were analyzed using UHPLC-QTOF/MS. Untargeted metabolic profiling was conducted on two groups: the severe VD deficiency with high POPs (SVDD-high POPs) and the VD deficiency with low POPs (VDD-low POPs). A total of 20 putative lipid metabolites were identified. In the VDD-low POPs group, 13 glycerophospholipids (GPLs) decreased compared to the SVDD-high POPs group, while 7 glycerophospholipids (GLs) increased. The lipid metabolites identified in this study are synthesized from fatty acids, and interconnected within the biosynthetic pathway. These metabolites can be regulated by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), which is involved in fatty acid metabolism. The reduction of active form VD by POPs may disrupt lipid metabolism by modulating the expression of PPARγ. Our findings suggest that POPs exposure alters lipid homeostasis by inhibiting VD activity; however, the opposing trends in GPLs and GLs identified in this study require further investigation.​