Bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) is a PPARγ agonist in an ECV304 cell line

Peroxisome proliferator activated receptors (PPAR)s are nuclear transcription factors of the steroid receptor super‐family. One member, PPARγ, a critical transcription factor in adipogenesis, is expressed in ECV304 cells, and when activated participates in the induction of cell death by apoptosis. Here we describe a clone of ECV304 cells, ECV‐ACO.Luc, which stably expresses a reporter gene for PPAR activation. ECV‐ACO.Luc respond to the PPARγ agonists, 15‐deoxy‐Δ 12,14 PGJ 2 , and ciglitizone, by inducing luciferase expression. Furthermore, using ECV‐ACO.Luc, we demonstrate that a newly described PPARγ antagonist, bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) has agonist activities. Similar to 15‐deoxy‐Δ 12,14 PGJ 2 , BADGE induces PPARγ activation, nuclear localization of the receptor, and induces cell death. British Journal of Pharmacology (2000) 131 , 651–654; doi: 10.1038/sj.bjp.0703628