Chronic Kidney Disease Risk Posed by 1-Ethoxy-2,3-difluoro-4-(trans-4-propylcyclohexyl) Benzene (EDPrB): An AOP of mTOR-Mediated Autophagy Dysregulation.

Miao C, Zhang B, Yu W, Li Y, Cao Z · 2026 · Environmental science & technology · Atlas ID MIAO2026

What this study shows

In mice, the environmental pollutant EDPrB accumulates in the kidney and causes CKD via mTOR hyperactivation, leading to autophagy dysregulation, inflammation and fibrosis; rapamycin rescue identified mTOR as the molecular initiating event, with corroborating data in HK-2 human kidney cells.

Abstract

ShowHide

1-Ethoxy-2,3-difluoro-4-(trans-4-propylcyclohexyl) benzene (EDPrB), a highly polluting fluorinated liquid-crystal monomer (FLCM), accumulates in the kidneys over the long term. Exposure to EDPrB can induce inflammatory responses and fibrosis in human renal cortical proximal tubule epithelial cells (HK-2), posing a risk of nephrotoxicity. Our study investigates the renal injury induced by EDPrB in male Kunming mice after 70-day exposure at 13, 130, and 1300 ug/kg bw/day.

Read the full abstract →

At a glance

Evidence type	A Animal model Marked A because it is an animal intervention or observation study measuring an organismal outcome (model: Mouse (Kunming) + HK-2 human cell line); the code names the system studied -- animal work can be rigorous and still not be human data.
Study type	4 - Animal Study
Model system	Mouse (Kunming) + HK-2 human cell line
Journal	Environmental science & technology
Year	2026
Peer reviewed	Yes
Record last updated	2026-08-22
Source	DOI 10.1021/acs.est.6c06697

Extracted findings

Intervention	EDPrB (fluorinated liquid crystal monomer) / Rapamycin
Target	mTOR-autophagy
Model	Mouse + Human cell line
Effect	In mice and HK-2 cells, mTOR hyperactivation causes autophagy dysregulation leading to CKD

Cite this paper

ShowHide

Miao, C., Zhang, B., Yu, W., Li, Y., & Cao, Z. (2026). Chronic Kidney Disease Risk Posed by 1-Ethoxy-2,3-difluoro-4-(trans-4-propylcyclohexyl) Benzene (EDPrB): An AOP of mTOR-Mediated Autophagy Dysregulation. Environmental science & technology. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6c06697

@article{MIAO2026,
  author       = {Miao, C. and Zhang, B. and Yu, W. and Li, Y. and Cao, Z.},
  title        = {{Chronic Kidney Disease Risk Posed by 1-Ethoxy-2,3-difluoro-4-(trans-4-propylcyclohexyl) Benzene (EDPrB): An AOP of mTOR-Mediated Autophagy Dysregulation}},
  journal      = {Environmental science & technology},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {10.1021/acs.est.6c06697},
}

Cite this Atlas record

The record is the Atlas's own work — the evidence label, the extracted findings and the links. It is cited as part of the dataset, not as the paper.

Barton, O. (2026). Oliver's mTOR Atlas (record MIAO2026) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/MIAO2026/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_MIAO2026,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record MIAO2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/MIAO2026/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}