Triclosan affects the expression of nitric oxide synthases (NOSs), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) in mouse neocortical neurons in vitro.

Triclosan (TCS) is a well-known compound that can be found in disinfectants, personal care products. There is one publication concerning the involvement of PPARγ in the mechanism of action of TCS. It is known that activation of PPARγ regulates the expression of the NF-κB mediated inflammation by acting on nitric oxide synthase (NOS) genes. However, there are no studies demonstrating a relationship between the effects of TCS on the PPARγ signaling pathway, changes in NF-κB expression, and NOS isoform synthesis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of TCS on the expression of PPARγ, NF-κB, nNOS, iNOS, and eNOS in mouse neocortical neurons. In addition, the effects of co-administration of synthetic alpha-naphthoflavone (αNF) or beta-naphthoflavone (βNF) flavonoids and triclosan were investigated. Our results show that TCS alters PPARγ, NF-κB, iNOS, and eNOS expression in mouse neurons in vitro. After 48 h of exposure, TCS increased PPARγ expression and decreased NF-κB expression. Moreover, under the influence of TCS, the expression of iNOS was increased and at the same time the expression of nNOS was decreased, which was probably caused by high levels of ROS. The experiments have shown that both αNF and βNF are able to modulate the effects of TCS in primary cultures of mouse cortical neurons.