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vom Saal FS, Antoniou M, Belcher SM, Bergman A, Bhandari RK, Birnbaum LS, Cohen A, Collins TJ, Demeneix B, Fine AM, Flaws JA, Gayrard V, Goodson WH, Gore AC, Heindel JJ, Hunt PA, Iguchi T, Kassotis CD, Kortenkamp A, Mesnage R, Muncke J, Myers JP, Nadal A, Newbold RR, Padmanabhan V, Palanza P, Palma Z, Parmigiani S, Patrick L, Prins GS, Rosenfeld CS, Skakkebaek NE, Sonnenschein C, Soto AM, Swan SH, Taylor JA, Toutain PL, von Hippel FA, Welshons WV, Zalko D, Zoeller RT. The Conflict between Regulatory Agencies over the 20,000-Fold Lowering of the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) for Bisphenol A (BPA) by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Environ Health Perspect 2024; 132:45001. [PMID: 38592230 PMCID: PMC11003459 DOI: 10.1289/ehp13812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommended lowering their estimated tolerable daily intake (TDI) for bisphenol A (BPA) 20,000-fold to 0.2 ng / kg body weight ( BW ) / day . BPA is an extensively studied high production volume endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) associated with a vast array of diseases. Prior risk assessments of BPA by EFSA as well as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have relied on industry-funded studies conducted under good laboratory practice protocols (GLP) requiring guideline end points and detailed record keeping, while also claiming to examine (but rejecting) thousands of published findings by academic scientists. Guideline protocols initially formalized in the mid-twentieth century are still used by many regulatory agencies. EFSA used a 21st century approach in its reassessment of BPA and conducted a transparent, but time-limited, systematic review that included both guideline and academic research. The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) opposed EFSA's revision of the TDI for BPA. OBJECTIVES We identify the flaws in the assumptions that the German BfR, as well as the FDA, have used to justify maintaining the TDI for BPA at levels above what a vast amount of academic research shows to cause harm. We argue that regulatory agencies need to incorporate 21st century science into chemical hazard identifications using the CLARITY-BPA (Consortium Linking Academic and Regulatory Insights on BPA Toxicity) nonguideline academic studies in a collaborative government-academic program model. DISCUSSION We strongly endorse EFSA's revised TDI for BPA and support the European Commission's (EC) apparent acceptance of this updated BPA risk assessment. We discuss challenges to current chemical risk assessment assumptions about EDCs that need to be addressed by regulatory agencies to, in our opinion, become truly protective of public health. Addressing these challenges will hopefully result in BPA, and eventually other structurally similar bisphenols (called regrettable substitutions) for which there are known adverse effects, being eliminated from all food-related and many other uses in the EU and elsewhere. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP13812.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederick S. vom Saal
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | - Michael Antoniou
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, King’s College London School of Medicine, London, UK
| | - Scott M. Belcher
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Ake Bergman
- Department of Environmental Science (ACES), Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ramji K. Bhandari
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | - Linda S. Birnbaum
- Scientist Emeritus and Former Director, National Toxicology Program (NTP), National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
- Scholar in Residence, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Aly Cohen
- Integrative Rheumatology Associates, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
| | - Terrence J. Collins
- Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Barbara Demeneix
- Comparative Physiology Laboratory, Natural History Museum, Paris, France
| | - Anne Marie Fine
- Environmental Medicine Education International, Mancos, Colorado, USA
| | - Jodi A. Flaws
- Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Illinois Urbana—Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA
| | - Veronique Gayrard
- ToxAlim (Research Centre in Food Toxicology), University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - William H. Goodson
- California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Andrea C. Gore
- Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Jerrold J. Heindel
- Healthy Environment and Endocrine Disruptor Strategies, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Patricia A. Hunt
- School of Molecular Biosciences, Center for Reproductive Biology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
| | - Taisen Iguchi
- Graduate School of Nanobioscience, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Christopher D. Kassotis
- Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA
| | - Andreas Kortenkamp
- Centre for Pollution Research and Policy, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, UK
| | - Robin Mesnage
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, King’s College London School of Medicine, London, UK
| | - Jane Muncke
- Food Packaging Forum Foundation, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Angel Nadal
- Instituto de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación en Biotecnología Sanitaria de Elche (IDiBE) and CIBERDEM, Miguel Hernandez University of Elche, Elche, Alicante, Spain
| | - Retha R. Newbold
- Scientist Emeritus, NTP, NIEHS, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
| | - Vasantha Padmanabhan
- Department of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - Paola Palanza
- Unit of Neuroscience, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | | | - Stefano Parmigiani
- Unit of Evolutionary and Functional Biology, Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Lyn Patrick
- Environmental Medicine Education International, Mancos, Colorado, USA
| | - Gail S. Prins
- Department of Urology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Cheryl S. Rosenfeld
- Biomedical Sciences, Thompson Center for Autism and Neurobehavioral Disorders, University of Missouri—Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA
- MU Institute of Data Science and Informatics, University of Missouri—Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | - Niels E. Skakkebaek
- Department of Growth and Reproduction, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Carlos Sonnenschein
- Department of Immunology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ana M. Soto
- Department of Immunology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Shanna H. Swan
- Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Julia A. Taylor
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | - Pierre-Louis Toutain
- Royal Veterinary College, University of London, London, UK
- NTHERES, INRAE, ENVT, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Frank A. von Hippel
- Department of Community, Environment & Policy, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Wade V. Welshons
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri—Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | - Daniel Zalko
- ToxAlim (Research Centre in Food Toxicology), University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - R. Thomas Zoeller
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
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Zoeller RT, Birnbaum LS, Collins TJ, Heindel J, Hunt PA, Iguchi T, Kortenkamp A, Myers JP, vom Saal FS, Sonnenschein C, Soto AM. European Medicines Agency Conflicts With the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on Bisphenol A Regulation. J Endocr Soc 2023; 7:bvad107. [PMID: 37873497 PMCID: PMC10590640 DOI: 10.1210/jendso/bvad107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has revised their estimate of the toxicity of bisphenol A (BPA) and, as a result, have recommended reducing the tolerable daily intake (TDI) by 20 000-fold. This would essentially ban the use of BPA in food packaging such as can liners, plastic food containers, and in consumer products. To come to this conclusion, EFSA used a systematic approach according to a pre-established protocol and included all guideline and nonguideline studies in their analysis. They found that Th-17 immune cells increased with very low exposure to BPA and used this endpoint to revise the TDI to be human health protective. A number of regulatory agencies including the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have written formal disagreements with several elements of EFSA's proposal. The European Commission will now decide whether to accept EFSA's recommendation over the objections of EMA. If the Commission accepts EFSA's recommendation, it will be a landmark action using knowledge acquired through independent scientific studies focused on biomarkers of chronic disease to protect human health. The goal of this Perspective is to clearly articulate the monumental nature of this debate and decision and to explain what is at stake. Our perspective is that the weight of evidence clearly supports EFSA's proposal to reduce the TDI by 20 000-fold.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Thomas Zoeller
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
- School of Science and Technology, University of Örebro, Örebro, Sweden
| | - Linda S Birnbaum
- Scholar in Residence, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Terrence J Collins
- Teresa Heinz Professor of Green Chemistry, and Director, Institute for Green Science, Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, 4400 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | | | - Patricia A Hunt
- School of Molecular Biosciences, Center for Reproductive Biology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
| | - Taisen Iguchi
- Graduate School of Nanobioscience, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 236-0027, Japan
| | - Andreas Kortenkamp
- Centre for Pollution Research and Policy, Brunel University London, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, UK
| | - John Peterson Myers
- Environmental Health Sciences, Charlottesville, VA, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Carnegie, Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Frederick S vom Saal
- Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
| | - Carlos Sonnenschein
- Centre Cavaillès, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France
- Institut for Advanced Studies, Nantes, France
- Department of Immunology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
| | - Ana M Soto
- Centre Cavaillès, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France
- Department of Immunology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, USA
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Abstract
In 1997, the first in vivo bisphenol A (BPA) study by endocrinologists reported that feeding BPA to pregnant mice induced adverse reproductive effects in male offspring at the low dose of 2 µg/kg/day. Since then, thousands of studies have reported adverse effects in animals administered low doses of BPA. Despite more than 100 epidemiological studies suggesting associations between BPA and disease/dysfunction also reported in animal studies, regulatory agencies continue to assert that BPA exposures are safe. To address this disagreement, the CLARITY-BPA study was designed to evaluate traditional endpoints of toxicity and modern hypothesis-driven, disease-relevant outcomes in the same set of animals. A wide range of adverse effects was reported in both the toxicity and the mechanistic endpoints at the lowest dose tested (2.5 µg/kg/day), leading independent experts to call for the lowest observed adverse effect level (LOAEL) to be dropped 20 000-fold from the current outdated LOAEL of 50 000 µg/kg/day. Despite criticism by members of the Endocrine Society that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s assumptions violate basic principles of endocrinology, the FDA rejected all low-dose data as not biologically plausible. Their decisions rely on 4 incorrect assumptions: dose responses must be monotonic, there exists a threshold below which there are no effects, both sexes must respond similarly, and only toxicological guideline studies are valid. This review details more than 20 years of BPA studies and addresses the divide that exists between regulatory approaches and endocrine science. Ultimately, CLARITY-BPA has shed light on why traditional methods of evaluating toxicity are insufficient to evaluate endocrine disrupting chemicals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederick S vom Saal
- University of Missouri – Columbia, Division of Biological Sciences, Columbia, Missouri
- Correspondence: Dr. Frederick vom Saal, University of Missouri-Columbia, Division of Biological Sciences, 105 Lefevre Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA. E-mail:
| | - Laura N Vandenberg
- University of Massachusetts – Amherst, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Amherst, Massachusetts
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Thayil AJ, Wang X, Bhandari P, vom Saal FS, Tillitt DE, Bhandari RK. Bisphenol A and 17α-ethinylestradiol-induced transgenerational gene expression differences in the brain-pituitary-testis axis of medaka, Oryzias latipes†. Biol Reprod 2020; 103:1324-1335. [PMID: 32940650 PMCID: PMC7711903 DOI: 10.1093/biolre/ioaa169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Revised: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), such as bisphenol A (BPA) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), can have far reaching health effects, including transgenerational abnormalities in offspring that never directly contacted either chemical. We previously reported reduced fertilization rates and embryo survival at F2 and F3 generations caused by 7-day embryonic exposure (F0) to 100 μg/L BPA or 0.05 μg/L EE2 in medaka. Crossbreeding of fish in F2 generation indicated subfertility in males. To further understand the mechanisms underlying BPA or EE2-induced adult onset and transgenerational reproductive defects in males, the present study examined the expression of genes regulating the brain-pituitary-testis (BPT) axis in the same F0 and F2 generation male medaka. Embryonic exposure to BPA or EE2 led to hyperactivation of brain and pituitary genes, which are actively involved in reproduction in adulthood of the F0 generation male fish, and some of these F0 effects continued to the F2 generation (transgenerational effects). Particularly, the F2 generation inherited the hyperactivated state of expression for kisspeptin (kiss1 and kiss2) and their receptors (kiss1r and kiss2r), and gnrh and gnrh receptors. At F2 generation, expression of DNA methyltransferase 1 (dnmt1) decreased in brain of the BPA treatment lineage, while EE2 treatment lineage showed increased dnmt3bb expression. Global hypomethylation pattern was observed in the testis of both F0 and F2 generation fish. Taken together, these results demonstrated that BPA or EE2-induced transgenerational reproductive impairment in the F2 generation was associated with alterations of reproductive gene expression in brain and testis and global DNA methylation in testis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albert J Thayil
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA
| | - Xuegeng Wang
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA
| | - Pooja Bhandari
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA
| | | | - Donald E Tillitt
- United States Geological Survey, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Ramji K Bhandari
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA
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Taylor JA, Jones MB, Besch-Williford CL, Berendzen AF, Ricke WA, vom Saal FS. Interactive Effects of Perinatal BPA or DES and Adult Testosterone and Estradiol Exposure on Adult Urethral Obstruction and Bladder, Kidney, and Prostate Pathology in Male Mice. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21113902. [PMID: 32486162 PMCID: PMC7313472 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21113902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2020] [Revised: 05/23/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Obstructive voiding disorder (OVD) occurs during aging in men and is often, but not always, associated with increased prostate size, due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), prostatitis, or prostate cancer. Estrogens are known to impact the development of both OVD and prostate diseases, either during early urogenital tract development in fetal–neonatal life or later in adulthood. To examine the potential interaction between developmental and adult estrogen exposure on the adult urogenital tract, male CD-1 mice were perinatally exposed to bisphenol A (BPA), diethylstilbestrol (DES) as a positive control, or vehicle negative control, and in adulthood were treated for 4 months with Silastic capsules containing testosterone and estradiol (T+E2) or empty capsules. Animals exposed to BPA or DES during perinatal development were more likely than negative controls to have urine flow/kidney problems and enlarged bladders, as well as enlarged prostates. OVD in adult T+E2-treated perinatal BPA and DES animals was associated with dorsal prostate hyperplasia and prostatitis. The results demonstrate a relationship between elevated exogenous estrogen levels during urogenital system development and elevated estradiol in adulthood and OVD in male mice. These findings support the two-hit hypothesis for the development of OVD and prostate diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia A. Taylor
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA; (J.A.T.); (M.B.J.)
| | - Maren Bell Jones
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA; (J.A.T.); (M.B.J.)
| | | | - Ashley F. Berendzen
- Biomolecular Imaging Center, Harry S Truman VA Hospital and University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA;
| | - William A. Ricke
- George M. O’Brien Center of Research Excellence, Department of Urology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53705, USA;
| | - Frederick S. vom Saal
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA; (J.A.T.); (M.B.J.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-(573)-356-9621
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Bhandari RK, Taylor JA, Sommerfeld-Sager J, Tillitt DE, Ricke WA, vom Saal FS. Estrogen receptor 1 expression and methylation of Esr1 promoter in mouse fetal prostate mesenchymal cells induced by gestational exposure to bisphenol A or ethinylestradiol. Environ Epigenet 2019; 5:dvz012. [PMID: 31463084 PMCID: PMC6705189 DOI: 10.1093/eep/dvz012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2019] [Revised: 06/20/2019] [Accepted: 07/10/2019] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Fetal/neonatal environmental estrogen exposures alter developmental programing of the prostate gland causing onset of diseases later in life. We have previously shown in vitro that exposures to 17β-estradiol (E2) and the endocrine disrupting chemical bisphenol A, at concentrations relevant to human exposure, cause an elevation of estrogen receptor α (Esr1) mRNA in primary cultures of fetal mouse prostate mesenchymal cells; a similar result was observed in the fetal rat urogenital sinus. Effects of these chemicals on prostate mesenchyme in vivo are not well understood. Here we show effects in mice of fetal exposure to the estrogenic drug in mixed oral contraceptives, 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), at a concentration of EE2 encountered by human embryos/fetuses whose mothers become pregnant while on EE2-containing oral contraceptives, or bisphenol A at a concentration relevant to exposures observed in human fetuses in vivo. Expression of Esr1 was elevated by bisphenol A or EE2 exposures, which decreased the global expression of DNA methyltransferase 3A (Dnmt3a), while methylation of Esr1 promoter was significantly increased. These results show that exposures to the environmental estrogen bisphenol A and drug EE2 cause transcriptional and epigenetic alterations to expression of estrogen receptors in developing prostate mesenchyme in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramji K Bhandari
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
- United States Geological Survey Columbia Environmental Research Center, Columbia, MO, USA
- Correspondence address. Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 321 McIver Street, Greensboro, NC 27412, USA. Tel: +1-336-256-0493; Fax: +1-336-334-5839; E-mail:
| | - Julia A Taylor
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | | | - Donald E Tillitt
- United States Geological Survey Columbia Environmental Research Center, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - William A Ricke
- Department of Urology, Molecular Environmental Toxicology Program, George M. O’Brien Center of Research Excellence, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
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Taylor JA, Sommerfeld-Sager JM, Meng CX, Nagel SC, Shioda T, vom Saal FS. Reduced body weight at weaning followed by increased post-weaning growth rate interacts with part-per-trillion fetal serum concentrations of bisphenol A (BPA) to impair glucose tolerance in male mice. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0208846. [PMID: 30557361 PMCID: PMC6296512 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2018] [Accepted: 11/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
There is evidence from longitudinal studies that being light at birth and weaning is associated with subsequent rapid weight gain in infants. This is referred to as “centile crossing”, which can lead to increased risk of lifetime obesity, glucose dysregulation and type 2 diabetes. Here, pregnant CD-1 mice were hemi-ovariectomized so that the entire litter was contained in one uterine horn to increase variability in fetal growth rate. Pregnant females were implanted on gestation day (GD) 9 with a Silastic capsule containing 6, 60 or 600 μg bisphenol A (BPA). On GD 18 the mean fetal serum unconjugated BPA concentrations were 17, 177 and 1858 pg/ml, respectively. Capsules were not removed, to avoid maternal stress, and were predicted to release BPA for at least 3 weeks. Body weight at weaning was strongly negatively correlated with post-weaning weight gain in both control and BPA-treated male mice, consistent with human data; female offspring were excluded, avoiding complications associated with postpubertal estrogens. Within each treatment group, male offspring were sorted into tertiles based on relative weight gain during the two weeks after weaning, designated as having Rapid (R), Medium (M) or Slow (S) growth rate. BPA exposure was associated with altered growth rate between weaning and postnatal week 12 (young adulthood), when a low-dose (20 mg/kg, i.p.) glucose tolerance test (GTT) was performed. We found altered glucose regulation in response to all doses of BPA. However, glucose tolerance was only significantly impaired (blood glucose levels were elevated) compared to controls in males in the rapid post-weaning growth group exposed perinatally to BPA. We conclude that male mice that are light at weaning, but then experience rapid catch-up growth immediately after weaning, represent a sensitive sub-population that is vulnerable to the metabolic disrupting effects of very low pg/ml fetal serum concentrations of BPA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia A. Taylor
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | | | - Chun-Xia Meng
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Susan C. Nagel
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Toshi Shioda
- Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Cancer Research, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Frederick S. vom Saal
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America
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Taylor JA, Shioda K, Mitsunaga S, Yawata S, Angle BM, Nagel SC, vom Saal FS, Shioda T. Prenatal Exposure to Bisphenol A Disrupts Naturally Occurring Bimodal DNA Methylation at Proximal Promoter of fggy, an Obesity-Relevant Gene Encoding a Carbohydrate Kinase, in Gonadal White Adipose Tissues of CD-1 Mice. Endocrinology 2018; 159:779-794. [PMID: 29220483 PMCID: PMC5774244 DOI: 10.1210/en.2017-00711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2017] [Accepted: 12/01/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Exposure of mammalian fetuses to endocrine disruptors can increase the risk of adult-onset diseases. We previously showed that exposure of mouse fetuses to bisphenol A (BPA) caused adult-onset obesity. To examine roles of epigenetic changes in this delayed toxicity, we determined the effects of fetal mouse exposure to BPA on genome-wide DNA methylation and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in gonadal white adipose tissues (WATs) by deep sequencing, bisulfite pyrosequencing, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Pregnant CD-1 mice (F0) were dosed daily with 0, 5, or 500 μg/kg/d BPA during gestational days 9 to 18, and the weaned F1 animals were fed ad libitum with standard chow until they were euthanized at 19 weeks old. In the vehicle-exposed F1 animals, fggy promoter showed a clear bimodal pattern of very strong (55% to 95%) or very weak (5% to 30%) DNA methylation occurring at nearly equal incidence with no intermediate strength. Promoter hypermethylation completely suppressed mRNA expression. BPA exposure eliminated this naturally occurring dichotomy, shifting fggy promoter toward the hypomethylation state to release transcriptional suppression. The strength of Fggy mRNA expression significantly correlated with increased whole body weight and gonadal fat weight of males but not females. Bioinformatics studies showed that expression of Fggy mRNA is stronger in mouse WATs than in brown adipose tissues and enhanced in gonadal fat by diet-induced obesity. These observations suggest that prenatal exposure to BPA may disrupt the physiological bimodal nature of epigenetic regulation of fggy in mouse WATs, possibly contributing to the adult-onset obesity phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia A. Taylor
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211
| | - Keiko Shioda
- Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Cancer Research, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02114
| | - Shino Mitsunaga
- Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Cancer Research, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02114
| | - Shiomi Yawata
- Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Cancer Research, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02114
| | - Brittany M. Angle
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211
| | - Susan C. Nagel
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211
| | | | - Toshi Shioda
- Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Cancer Research, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02114
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
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Vandenberg LN, Blumberg B, Antoniou MN, Benbrook CM, Carroll L, Colborn T, Everett LG, Hansen M, Landrigan PJ, Lanphear BP, Mesnage R, vom Saal FS, Welshons WV, Myers JP. Is it time to reassess current safety standards for glyphosate-based herbicides? J Epidemiol Community Health 2017; 71:613-618. [PMID: 28320775 PMCID: PMC5484035 DOI: 10.1136/jech-2016-208463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2016] [Revised: 01/25/2017] [Accepted: 01/30/2017] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Use of glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) increased ∼100-fold from 1974 to 2014. Additional increases are expected due to widespread emergence of glyphosate-resistant weeds, increased application of GBHs, and preharvest uses of GBHs as desiccants. Current safety assessments rely heavily on studies conducted over 30 years ago. We have considered information on GBH use, exposures, mechanisms of action, toxicity and epidemiology. Human exposures to glyphosate are rising, and a number of in vitro and in vivo studies challenge the basis for the current safety assessment of glyphosate and GBHs. We conclude that current safety standards for GBHs are outdated and may fail to protect public health or the environment. To improve safety standards, the following are urgently needed: (1) human biomonitoring for glyphosate and its metabolites; (2) prioritisation of glyphosate and GBHs for hazard assessments, including toxicological studies that use state-of-the-art approaches; (3) epidemiological studies, especially of occupationally exposed agricultural workers, pregnant women and their children and (4) evaluations of GBHs in commercially used formulations, recognising that herbicide mixtures likely have effects that are not predicted by studying glyphosate alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura N Vandenberg
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts—Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Bruce Blumberg
- Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, California, USA
| | - Michael N Antoniou
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Charles M Benbrook
- University of Newcastle, Newcastle, UK
- Benbrook Consulting Services, Enterprise, Oregon, USA
| | - Lynn Carroll
- TEDX, The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, Paonia, Colorado, USA
| | - Theo Colborn
- TEDX, The Endocrine Disruption Exchange, Paonia, Colorado, USA
| | | | | | - Philip J Landrigan
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Bruce P Lanphear
- Child & Family Research Institute, BC Children's Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Robin Mesnage
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Frederick S vom Saal
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | - Wade V Welshons
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | - John Peterson Myers
- Environmental Health Sciences, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
- Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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10
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VandeVoort CA, Gerona RR, vom Saal FS, Tarantal AF, Hunt PA, Hillenweck A, Zalko D. Maternal and Fetal Pharmacokinetics of Oral Radiolabeled and Authentic Bisphenol A in the Rhesus Monkey. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0165410. [PMID: 27930651 PMCID: PMC5145146 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0165410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2016] [Accepted: 09/14/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study was conducted in pregnant rhesus monkeys to determine the rapidity and extent to which BPA reaches the fetal compartment following oral ingestion, and the 24-hr fate of BPA. To assess metabolism changes during the course of pregnancy, we compared BPA biotransformation during the second and third trimesters in the same animals, measuring the levels of sulfated, gluronidated, and free BPA in maternal serum, amniotic fluid, and fetal serum. All animals showed measurable unconjugated and conjugated BPA in the fetal compartment and slow clearance compared to maternal serum. There were higher levels of BPA-G in amniotic fluid at 150 days gestation compared to 100 days gestation, as well as higher levels of BPA-G than BPA-S. We also monitored 3H-BPA (and metabolites) in key tissues and excreta from a mother and fetus and from a non-pregnant female. The elimination of radioactivity was rapid, but residues were still detectable 24 hr after dosing in all tissues analyzed. These data suggest that, in primates, rapid maternal processing of BPA does not alleviate the risk of exposure to the developing fetus. This study elevates concerns about levels of current BPA human exposure from potentially a large number of unknown sources and the risks posed to developing fetuses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine A. VandeVoort
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Roy R. Gerona
- Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Frederick S. vom Saal
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Alice F. Tarantal
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
- Departments of Pediatrics and Cell Biology and Human Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - Patricia A. Hunt
- School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, United States of America
| | - Anne Hillenweck
- Toxalim, Université de Toulouse, INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique), Toulouse, France
| | - Daniel Zalko
- Toxalim, Université de Toulouse, INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique), Toulouse, France
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11
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Weltje L, vom Saal FS, Oehlmann J. Reproductive stimulation by low doses of xenoestrogens contrasts with the view of hormesis as an adaptive response. Hum Exp Toxicol 2016; 24:431-7. [PMID: 16235731 DOI: 10.1191/0960327105ht551oa] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
We discuss the similarities and differences of two types of effects that occur at low but not high doses of chemicals: hormesis and stimulation by oestrogenic endocrine-disrupting chemicals or xenoestrogens. While hormesis is a general phenomenon evoked by many compounds, oestrogenic stimulation occurs for specific chemicals that disrupt actions of endogenous oestrogen. Both types of phenomena can induce an inverted-U dose-response curve, from low-dose stimulation of response, and thus challenge current methods of risk assessment. Hormesis is generally thought to be caused by an over-reaction of detoxification mechanisms, which is considered an adaptive response that should protect an organism from subsequent stress. One view of the hormetic low-dose stimulatory response, i.e., increased performance, is that it is beneficial. In contrast, we propose that for manmade xenoestrogens this is never the case. This is demonstrated with examples for low doses of the oestrogenic environmental chemicals bisphenol A and octylphenol, and the oestrogenic drug-response curves is underestimated by the current threshold model used in risk assessment, and this is likely to apply to other endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lennart Weltje
- Department of Ecology and Evolution-Ecotoxicology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
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12
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederick S vom Saal
- Division of Biological Sciences, 105 Lefevre Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA
| | - Wade V Welshons
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, E102 Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA
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13
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Stahlhut RW, van Breemen RB, Gerona RR, Taylor JA, Welshons WV, vom Saal FS. Comment on "Optimal Exposure Biomarkers for Nonpersistent Chemicals in Environmental Epidemiology". Environ Health Perspect 2016; 124:A66. [PMID: 27035054 PMCID: PMC4829989 DOI: 10.1289/ehp.1511057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Richard W. Stahlhut
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | | | - Roy R. Gerona
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Julia A. Taylor
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | - Wade V. Welshons
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA
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14
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Kassotis CD, Alvarez DA, Taylor JA, vom Saal FS, Nagel SC, Tillitt DE. Characterization of Missouri surface waters near point sources of pollution reveals potential novel atmospheric route of exposure for bisphenol A and wastewater hormonal activity pattern. Sci Total Environ 2015; 524-525:384-393. [PMID: 25917777 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.04.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2015] [Revised: 04/02/2015] [Accepted: 04/03/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Surface water contamination by chemical pollutants increasingly threatens water quality around the world. Among the many contaminants found in surface water, there is growing concern regarding endocrine disrupting chemicals, based on their ability to interfere with some aspect of hormone action in exposed organisms, including humans. This study assessed water quality at several sites across Missouri (near wastewater treatment plants and airborne release sites of bisphenol A) based on hormone receptor activation potencies and chemical concentrations present in the surface water. We hypothesized that bisphenol A and ethinylestradiol would be greater in water near permitted airborne release sites and wastewater treatment plant inputs, respectively, and that these two compounds would be responsible for the majority of activities in receptor-based assays conducted with water collected near these sites. Concentrations of bisphenol A and ethinylestradiol were compared to observed receptor activities using authentic standards to assess contribution to total activities, and quantitation of a comprehensive set of wastewater compounds was performed to better characterize each site. Bisphenol A concentrations were found to be elevated in surface water near permitted airborne release sites, raising questions that airborne releases of BPA may influence nearby surface water contamination and may represent a previously underestimated source to the environment and potential for human exposure. Estrogen and androgen receptor activities of surface water samples were predictive of wastewater input, although the lower sensitivity of the ethinylestradiol ELISA relative to the very high sensitivity of the bioassay approaches did not allow a direct comparison. Wastewater-influenced sites also had elevated anti-estrogenic and anti-androgenic equivalence, while sites without wastewater discharges exhibited no antagonist activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher D Kassotis
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, United States; Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, United States
| | - David A Alvarez
- U.S. Geological Survey, Columbia Environmental Research Center, 4200 New Haven Road, Columbia, MO 65201, United States
| | - Julia A Taylor
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, United States
| | - Frederick S vom Saal
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, United States
| | - Susan C Nagel
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, United States; Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, United States
| | - Donald E Tillitt
- U.S. Geological Survey, Columbia Environmental Research Center, 4200 New Haven Road, Columbia, MO 65201, United States; Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, United States.
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15
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Affiliation(s)
- Naomi Oreskes
- Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
- Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, United States
- The Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania 16801, United States
- Washington, DC, United States
- University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States
| | - Daniel Carlat
- Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
- Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, United States
- The Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania 16801, United States
- Washington, DC, United States
- University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States
| | - Michael E Mann
- Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
- Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, United States
- The Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania 16801, United States
- Washington, DC, United States
- University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States
| | - Paul D Thacker
- Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
- Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, United States
- The Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania 16801, United States
- Washington, DC, United States
- University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States
| | - Frederick S vom Saal
- Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
- Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, United States
- The Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania 16801, United States
- Washington, DC, United States
- University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States
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16
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Heindel JJ, vom Saal FS, Blumberg B, Bovolin P, Calamandrei G, Ceresini G, Cohn BA, Fabbri E, Gioiosa L, Kassotis C, Legler J, La Merrill M, Rizzir L, Machtinger R, Mantovani A, Mendez MA, Montanini L, Molteni L, Nagel SC, Parmigiani S, Panzica G, Paterlini S, Pomatto V, Ruzzin J, Sartor G, Schug TT, Street ME, Suvorov A, Volpi R, Zoeller RT, Palanza P. Parma consensus statement on metabolic disruptors. Environ Health 2015; 14:54. [PMID: 26092037 PMCID: PMC4473834 DOI: 10.1186/s12940-015-0042-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 144] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2015] [Accepted: 06/03/2015] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
A multidisciplinary group of experts gathered in Parma Italy for a workshop hosted by the University of Parma, May 16-18, 2014 to address concerns about the potential relationship between environmental metabolic disrupting chemicals, obesity and related metabolic disorders. The objectives of the workshop were to: 1. Review findings related to the role of environmental chemicals, referred to as "metabolic disruptors", in obesity and metabolic syndrome with special attention to recent discoveries from animal model and epidemiology studies; 2. Identify conclusions that could be drawn with confidence from existing animal and human data; 3. Develop predictions based on current data; and 4. Identify critical knowledge gaps and areas of uncertainty. The consensus statements are intended to aid in expanding understanding of the role of metabolic disruptors in the obesity and metabolic disease epidemics, to move the field forward by assessing the current state of the science and to identify research needs on the role of environmental chemical exposures in these diseases. We propose broadening the definition of obesogens to that of metabolic disruptors, to encompass chemicals that play a role in altered susceptibility to obesity, diabetes and related metabolic disorders including metabolic syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerrold J. Heindel
- />Division of Extramural Research and Training, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC USA
| | | | - Bruce Blumberg
- />Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA USA
| | - Patrizia Bovolin
- />Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Gemma Calamandrei
- />Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Insituto Superiore di Sanita, Rome, Italy
| | - Graziano Ceresini
- />Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | | | - Elena Fabbri
- />Interdepartment Center for Environmental Science Research, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Laura Gioiosa
- />Department of Neuroscience, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | | | - Juliette Legler
- />Department of Toxicology and Environmental Health, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Michele La Merrill
- />Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of California, Davis, CA USA
| | - Laura Rizzir
- />Department of Health Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Monza, Italy
| | - Ronit Machtinger
- />Sheba Medical Center and Tel-Aviv University, Tel –Aviv, Israel
| | | | - Michelle A. Mendez
- />School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC USA
| | - Luisa Montanini
- />Department of Pediatrics, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | | | - Susan C. Nagel
- />Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO USA
| | | | - Giancarlo Panzica
- />Department of Neuroscience and Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi (NICO), University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Silvia Paterlini
- />Department of Neuroscience and Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi (NICO), University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Valentina Pomatto
- />Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Jérôme Ruzzin
- />Department of Biology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Giorgio Sartor
- />Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Thaddeus T. Schug
- />Division of Extramural Research and Training, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC USA
| | - Maria E. Street
- />Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital, Parma, Italy
| | - Alexander Suvorov
- />Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO USA
| | - Riccardo Volpi
- />Department of Internal Medicine, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - R. Thomas Zoeller
- />Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA USA
| | - Paola Palanza
- />Department of Neuroscience, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
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17
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Bhandari RK, vom Saal FS, Tillitt DE. Transgenerational effects from early developmental exposures to bisphenol A or 17α-ethinylestradiol in medaka, Oryzias latipes. Sci Rep 2015; 5:9303. [PMID: 25790734 PMCID: PMC4366817 DOI: 10.1038/srep09303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2014] [Accepted: 02/25/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The transgenerational consequences of environmental contaminant exposures of aquatic vertebrates have the potential for broad ecological impacts, yet are largely uninvestigated. Bisphenol A (BPA) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) are two ubiquitous estrogenic chemicals present in aquatic environments throughout the United States and many other countries. Aquatic organisms, including fish, are exposed to varying concentrations of these chemicals at various stages of their life history. Here, we tested the ability of embryonic exposure to BPA or EE2 to cause adverse health outcomes at later life stages and transgenerational abnormalities in medaka fish. Exposures of F0 medaka to either BPA (100 μg/L) or EE2 (0.05 μg/L) during the first 7 days of embryonic development, when germ cells are differentiating, did not cause any apparent phenotypic abnormalities in F0 or F1 generations, but led to a significant reduction in the fertilization rate in offspring two generations later (F2) as well as a reduction of embryo survival in offspring three generations later (F3). Our present observations suggest that BPA or EE2 exposure during development induces transgenerational phenotypes of reproductive impairment and compromised embryonic survival in fish of subsequent generations. These adverse outcomes may have negative impacts on populations of fish inhabiting contaminated aquatic environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramji K. Bhandari
- U. S. Geological Survey, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Columbia, MO 65201, U.S.A
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211
| | | | - Donald E. Tillitt
- U. S. Geological Survey, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Columbia, MO 65201, U.S.A
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18
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vom Saal FS, Welshons WV. Evidence that bisphenol A (BPA) can be accurately measured without contamination in human serum and urine, and that BPA causes numerous hazards from multiple routes of exposure. Mol Cell Endocrinol 2014; 398:101-13. [PMID: 25304273 PMCID: PMC4805123 DOI: 10.1016/j.mce.2014.09.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2014] [Revised: 09/25/2014] [Accepted: 09/26/2014] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
There is extensive evidence that bisphenol A (BPA) is related to a wide range of adverse health effects based on both human and experimental animal studies. However, a number of regulatory agencies have ignored all hazard findings. Reports of high levels of unconjugated (bioactive) serum BPA in dozens of human biomonitoring studies have also been rejected based on the prediction that the findings are due to assay contamination and that virtually all ingested BPA is rapidly converted to inactive metabolites. NIH and industry-sponsored round robin studies have demonstrated that serum BPA can be accurately assayed without contamination, while the FDA lab has acknowledged uncontrolled assay contamination. In reviewing the published BPA biomonitoring data, we find that assay contamination is, in fact, well controlled in most labs, and cannot be used as the basis for discounting evidence that significant and virtually continuous exposure to BPA must be occurring from multiple sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederick S vom Saal
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 USA.
| | - Wade V Welshons
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia MO 65211 USA
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19
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Vandenberg LN, Ehrlich S, Belcher SM, Ben-Jonathan N, Dolinoy DC, Hugo ER, Hunt PA, Newbold RR, Rubin BS, Saili KS, Soto AM, Wang HS, vom Saal FS. Low dose effects of bisphenol A. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2014. [DOI: 10.4161/endo.26490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 144] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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20
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Hormann AM, vom Saal FS, Nagel SC, Stahlhut RW, Moyer CL, Ellersieck MR, Welshons WV, Toutain PL, Taylor JA. Holding thermal receipt paper and eating food after using hand sanitizer results in high serum bioactive and urine total levels of bisphenol A (BPA). PLoS One 2014; 9:e110509. [PMID: 25337790 PMCID: PMC4206219 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0110509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 138] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2014] [Accepted: 09/23/2014] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disrupting environmental contaminant used in a wide variety of products, and BPA metabolites are found in almost everyone's urine, suggesting widespread exposure from multiple sources. Regulatory agencies estimate that virtually all BPA exposure is from food and beverage packaging. However, free BPA is applied to the outer layer of thermal receipt paper present in very high (∼20 mg BPA/g paper) quantities as a print developer. Not taken into account when considering thermal paper as a source of BPA exposure is that some commonly used hand sanitizers, as well as other skin care products, contain mixtures of dermal penetration enhancing chemicals that can increase by up to 100 fold the dermal absorption of lipophilic compounds such as BPA. We found that when men and women held thermal receipt paper immediately after using a hand sanitizer with penetration enhancing chemicals, significant free BPA was transferred to their hands and then to French fries that were eaten, and the combination of dermal and oral BPA absorption led to a rapid and dramatic average maximum increase (Cmax) in unconjugated (bioactive) BPA of ∼7 ng/mL in serum and ∼20 µg total BPA/g creatinine in urine within 90 min. The default method used by regulatory agencies to test for hazards posed by chemicals is intra-gastric gavage. For BPA this approach results in less than 1% of the administered dose being bioavailable in blood. It also ignores dermal absorption as well as sublingual absorption in the mouth that both bypass first-pass liver metabolism. The elevated levels of BPA that we observed due to holding thermal paper after using a product containing dermal penetration enhancing chemicals have been related to an increased risk for a wide range of developmental abnormalities as well as diseases in adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annette M. Hormann
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Frederick S. vom Saal
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Susan C. Nagel
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Richard W. Stahlhut
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Carol L. Moyer
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Mark R. Ellersieck
- Department of Statistics, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Wade V. Welshons
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Pierre-Louis Toutain
- Université de Toulouse, INPT, ENVT, UPS, UMR1331, F- 31062 Toulouse, France
- INRA, UMR1331, Toxalim, Research Centre in Food Toxicology, F-31027 Toulouse, France
| | - Julia A. Taylor
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America
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Vandenberg LN, Welshons WV, vom Saal FS, Toutain PL, Myers JP. Should oral gavage be abandoned in toxicity testing of endocrine disruptors? Environ Health 2014; 13:46. [PMID: 24961440 PMCID: PMC4069342 DOI: 10.1186/1476-069x-13-46] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2014] [Accepted: 05/05/2014] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
For decades, hazard assessments for environmental chemicals have used intra-gastric gavage to assess the effects of 'oral' exposures. It is now widely used--and in some cases required--by US federal agencies to assess potential toxicity of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). In this review we enumerate several reasons why gavage is not appropriate for the assessment of EDCs using bisphenol A (BPA) as a main example. First, whereas human dietary exposures interact with the oral mucosa, gavage exposures avoid these interactions, leading to dramatic differences in absorption, bioavailability and metabolism with implications for toxicokinetic assumptions and models. Additionally, there are well acknowledged complications associated with gavage, such as perforation of the esophagus that diminish its value in toxicological experiments. Finally, the gavage protocol itself can induce stress responses by the endocrine system and confound the assessment of EDCs. These serious flaws have not been taken into account in interpreting results of EDC research. We propose the exploration of alternatives to mimic human exposures when there are multiple exposure routes/sources and when exposures are chronic. We conclude that gavage may be preferred over other routes for some environmental chemicals in some circumstances, but it does not appropriately model human dietary exposures for many chemicals. Because it avoids exposure pathways, is stressful, and thus interferes with endocrine responses, gavage should be abandoned as the default route of administration for hazard assessments of EDCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura N Vandenberg
- Division of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts – Amherst, School of Public Health, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - Wade V Welshons
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Frederick S vom Saal
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Pierre-Louis Toutain
- Université de Toulouse, INPT, ENVT, UPS, UMR1331, F- 31062 Toulouse, France
- INRA, UMR1331, Toxalim, Research Centre in Food Toxicology, F-31027 Toulouse, France
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Lathi RB, Liebert CA, Brookfield KF, Taylor JA, vom Saal FS, Fujimoto VY, Baker VL. Conjugated bisphenol A in maternal serum in relation to miscarriage risk. Fertil Steril 2014; 102:123-8. [PMID: 24746738 DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2014.03.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2013] [Revised: 03/04/2014] [Accepted: 03/11/2014] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between the maternal serum bisphenol A (BPA) concentration at the time of the missed menstrual cycle and miscarriage risk. DESIGN Retrospective cohort of prospectively collected serum samples. SETTING Academic fertility center. PATIENT(S) Women presenting for early pregnancy monitoring with singleton pregnancies. INTERVENTION(S) Stored serum samples from 4 to 5 weeks' gestation analyzed for conjugated serum BPA concentrations. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Live birth, miscarriage, and chromosome content of miscarriage. RESULT(S) With the 115 women included in the study, there were 47 live births and 68 clinical miscarriages (46 aneuploid and 22 euploid). Median conjugated BPA concentrations were higher in the women who had miscarriages than in those who had live births (0.101 vs. 0.075 ng/mL). Women with the highest quartile of conjugated BPA had an increased relative risk of miscarriage (1.83; 95% CI, 1.14-2.96) compared with the women in the lowest quartile. We found a similar increase risk for both euploid and aneuploid miscarriages. CONCLUSION(S) Maternal conjugated BPA was associated with a higher risk of aneuploid and euploid miscarriage in this cohort. The impact of reducing individual exposure on future pregnancy outcomes deserves further study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth B Lathi
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.
| | - Cara A Liebert
- Department of Surgery, Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Stanford, California
| | | | - Julia A Taylor
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri
| | - Frederick S vom Saal
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri
| | - Victor Y Fujimoto
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Valerie L Baker
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California
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Vandenberg LN, Gerona RR, Kannan K, Taylor JA, van Breemen RB, Dickenson CA, Liao C, Yuan Y, Newbold RR, Padmanabhan V, vom Saal FS, Woodruff TJ. A round robin approach to the analysis of bisphenol A (BPA) in human blood samples. Environ Health 2014; 13:25. [PMID: 24690217 PMCID: PMC4066311 DOI: 10.1186/1476-069x-13-25] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2013] [Accepted: 02/10/2014] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Human exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) is ubiquitous, yet there are concerns about whether BPA can be measured in human blood. This Round Robin was designed to address this concern through three goals: 1) to identify collection materials, reagents and detection apparatuses that do not contribute BPA to serum; 2) to identify sensitive and precise methods to accurately measure unconjugated BPA (uBPA) and BPA-glucuronide (BPA-G), a metabolite, in serum; and 3) to evaluate whether inadvertent hydrolysis of BPA-G occurs during sample handling and processing. METHODS Four laboratories participated in this Round Robin. Laboratories screened materials to identify BPA contamination in collection and analysis materials. Serum was spiked with concentrations of uBPA and/or BPA-G ranging from 0.09-19.5 (uBPA) and 0.5-32 (BPA-G) ng/mL. Additional samples were preserved unspiked as 'environmental' samples. Blinded samples were provided to laboratories that used LC/MSMS to simultaneously quantify uBPA and BPA-G. To determine whether inadvertent hydrolysis of BPA metabolites occurred, samples spiked with only BPA-G were analyzed for the presence of uBPA. Finally, three laboratories compared direct and indirect methods of quantifying BPA-G. RESULTS We identified collection materials and reagents that did not introduce BPA contamination. In the blinded spiked sample analysis, all laboratories were able to distinguish low from high values of uBPA and BPA-G, for the whole spiked sample range and for those samples spiked with the three lowest concentrations (0.5-3.1 ng/ml). By completion of the Round Robin, three laboratories had verified methods for the analysis of uBPA and two verified for the analysis of BPA-G (verification determined by: 4 of 5 samples within 20% of spiked concentrations). In the analysis of BPA-G only spiked samples, all laboratories reported BPA-G was the majority of BPA detected (92.2 - 100%). Finally, laboratories were more likely to be verified using direct methods than indirect ones using enzymatic hydrolysis. CONCLUSIONS Sensitive and accurate methods for the direct quantification of uBPA and BPA-G were developed in multiple laboratories and can be used for the analysis of human serum samples. BPA contamination can be controlled during sample collection and inadvertent hydrolysis of BPA conjugates can be avoided during sample handling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura N Vandenberg
- Division of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts – Amherst, School of Public Health, Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Roy R Gerona
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California – San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Kurunthachalam Kannan
- Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, and State University of New York at Albany, Albany, NY, USA
| | - Julia A Taylor
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | | | - Carrie A Dickenson
- Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California – San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Chunyang Liao
- Wadsworth Center, NY State Department of Public Health, Albany, NY, USA
| | - Yang Yuan
- College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Retha R Newbold
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA
| | - Vasantha Padmanabhan
- Department of Pediatrics and Reproductive Sciences Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | | | - Tracey J Woodruff
- Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California – San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
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Vandenberg LN, Colborn T, Hayes TB, Heindel JJ, Jacobs DR, Lee DH, Myers JP, Shioda T, Soto AM, vom Saal FS, Welshons WV, Zoeller RT. Regulatory decisions on endocrine disrupting chemicals should be based on the principles of endocrinology. Reprod Toxicol 2013; 38:1-15. [PMID: 23411111 DOI: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2013.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 127] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2012] [Revised: 01/18/2013] [Accepted: 02/01/2013] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
For years, scientists from various disciplines have studied the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on the health and wellbeing of humans and wildlife. Some studies have specifically focused on the effects of low doses, i.e. those in the range that are thought to be safe for humans and/or animals. Others have focused on the existence of non-monotonic dose-response curves. These concepts challenge the way that chemical risk assessment is performed for EDCs. Continued discussions have clarified exactly what controversies and challenges remain. We address several of these issues, including why the study and regulation of EDCs should incorporate endocrine principles; what level of consensus there is for low dose effects; challenges to our understanding of non-monotonicity; and whether EDCs have been demonstrated to produce adverse effects. This discussion should result in a better understanding of these issues, and allow for additional dialog on their impact on risk assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura N Vandenberg
- Center for Regenerative & Developmental Biology, and Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, United States.
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Schug TT, Erlebacher A, Leibowitz S, Ma L, Muglia LJ, Rando OJ, Rogers JM, Romero R, vom Saal FS, Wise DL. Fetal programming and environmental exposures: implications for prenatal care and preterm birth. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2012; 1276:37-46. [PMID: 23278645 PMCID: PMC4154493 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.12003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Sponsored by the New York Academy of Sciences and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, with support from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and Life Technologies, "Fetal Programming and Environmental Exposures: Implications for Prenatal Care and Preterm Birth" was held on June 11-12, 2012 at the New York Academy of Sciences in New York City. The meeting, comprising individual talks and panel discussions, highlighted basic, clinical, and translational research approaches, and highlighted the need for specialized testing of drugs, consumer products, and industrial chemicals, with a view to the unique impacts these can have during gestation. Speakers went on to discuss many other factors that affect prenatal development, from genetics to parental diet, revealing the extraordinary sensitivity of the developing fetus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thaddeus T Schug
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA.
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26
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Nicholson TM, Ricke EA, Marker PC, Miano JM, Mayer RD, Timms BG, vom Saal FS, Wood RW, Ricke WA. Testosterone and 17β-estradiol induce glandular prostatic growth, bladder outlet obstruction, and voiding dysfunction in male mice. Endocrinology 2012; 153:5556-65. [PMID: 22948219 PMCID: PMC3473198 DOI: 10.1210/en.2012-1522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) are common in older men and can contribute to lower urinary tract symptoms that significantly impact quality of life. Few existing models of BOO and BPH use physiological levels of hormones associated with disease progression in humans in a genetically manipulable organism. We present a model of BPH and BOO induced in mice with testosterone (T) and 17β-estradiol (E(2)). Male mice were surgically implanted with slow-releasing sc pellets containing 25 mg T and 2.5 mg E(2) (T+E(2)). After 2 and 4 months of hormone treatment, we evaluated voiding patterns and examined the gross morphology and histology of the bladder, urethra, and prostate. Mice treated with T+E(2) developed significantly larger bladders than untreated mice, consistent with BOO. Some mice treated with T+E(2) had complications in the form of bladder hypertrophy, diverticula, calculi, and eventual decompensation with hydronephrosis. Hormone treatment caused a significant decrease in the size of the urethral lumen, increased prostate mass, and increased number of prostatic ducts associated with the prostatic urethra, compared with untreated mice. Voiding dysfunction was observed in mice treated with T+E(2), who exhibited droplet voiding pattern with significantly decreased void mass, shorter void duration, and fewer sustained voids. The constellation of lower urinary tract abnormalities, including BOO, enlarged prostates, and voiding dysfunction seen in male mice treated with T+E(2) is consistent with BPH in men. This model is suitable for better understanding molecular mechanisms and for developing novel strategies to address BPH and BOO.
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Vandenberg LN, Colborn T, Hayes TB, Heindel JJ, Jacobs DR, Lee DH, Shioda T, Soto AM, vom Saal FS, Welshons WV, Zoeller RT, Myers JP. Hormones and endocrine-disrupting chemicals: low-dose effects and nonmonotonic dose responses. Endocr Rev 2012; 33:378-455. [PMID: 22419778 PMCID: PMC3365860 DOI: 10.1210/er.2011-1050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1939] [Impact Index Per Article: 161.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2011] [Accepted: 02/07/2012] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
For decades, studies of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have challenged traditional concepts in toxicology, in particular the dogma of "the dose makes the poison," because EDCs can have effects at low doses that are not predicted by effects at higher doses. Here, we review two major concepts in EDC studies: low dose and nonmonotonicity. Low-dose effects were defined by the National Toxicology Program as those that occur in the range of human exposures or effects observed at doses below those used for traditional toxicological studies. We review the mechanistic data for low-dose effects and use a weight-of-evidence approach to analyze five examples from the EDC literature. Additionally, we explore nonmonotonic dose-response curves, defined as a nonlinear relationship between dose and effect where the slope of the curve changes sign somewhere within the range of doses examined. We provide a detailed discussion of the mechanisms responsible for generating these phenomena, plus hundreds of examples from the cell culture, animal, and epidemiology literature. We illustrate that nonmonotonic responses and low-dose effects are remarkably common in studies of natural hormones and EDCs. Whether low doses of EDCs influence certain human disorders is no longer conjecture, because epidemiological studies show that environmental exposures to EDCs are associated with human diseases and disabilities. We conclude that when nonmonotonic dose-response curves occur, the effects of low doses cannot be predicted by the effects observed at high doses. Thus, fundamental changes in chemical testing and safety determination are needed to protect human health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura N Vandenberg
- Tufts University, Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology, Department of Biology, 200 Boston Avenue, Suite 4600, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, USA.
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vom Saal FS, Nagel SC, Coe BL, Angle BM, Taylor JA. The estrogenic endocrine disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA) and obesity. Mol Cell Endocrinol 2012; 354:74-84. [PMID: 22249005 PMCID: PMC3306519 DOI: 10.1016/j.mce.2012.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 290] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2011] [Revised: 12/30/2011] [Accepted: 01/02/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
There is increasing experimental and epidemiological evidence that fetal programming of genetic systems is a contributing factor in the recent increase in adult obesity and other components of metabolic syndrome. In particular, there is evidence that epigenetic changes associated with the use of manmade chemicals may interact with other factors that influence fetal and postnatal growth in contributing to the current obesity epidemic. The focus of this review is on the developmental effects of estrogenic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), and more specifically on effects of exposure to the estrogenic EDC bisphenol A (BPA), on adipocytes and their function, and the ultimate impact on adult obesity; BPA exposure also results in impaired reproductive capacity. We discuss the interaction of EDCs with other factors that impact growth during fetal and neonatal life, such as placental blood flow and nutrient transport to fetuses, and how these influence fetal growth and abnormalities in homeostatic control systems required to maintain normal body weight throughout life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederick S. vom Saal
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO, 65211 USA
| | - Susan C. Nagel
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO, 65211 USA
| | - Benjamin L. Coe
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO, 65211 USA
| | - Brittany M. Angle
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO, 65211 USA
| | - Julia A. Taylor
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO, 65211 USA
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29
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Hanna CW, Bloom MS, Robinson WP, Kim D, Parsons PJ, vom Saal FS, Taylor JA, Steuerwald AJ, Fujimoto VY. DNA methylation changes in whole blood is associated with exposure to the environmental contaminants, mercury, lead, cadmium and bisphenol A, in women undergoing ovarian stimulation for IVF. Hum Reprod 2012; 27:1401-10. [PMID: 22381621 DOI: 10.1093/humrep/des038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Changes in DNA methylation may play an important role in the deleterious reproductive effects reported in association with exposure to environmental pollutants. In this pilot study, we identify candidate methylation changes associated with exposure to pollutants in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). METHODS Blood and urine were collected from women on the day of oocyte retrieval. Whole blood was analyzed for mercury and lead, and urine for cadmium using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Unconjugated bisphenol A (BPA) was analyzed in serum using high-performance liquid chromatography with Coularray detection. Participants were dichotomized as higher or lower exposure groups by median concentrations. Using the Illumina GoldenGate Methylation Cancer Panel I, DNA methylation in whole blood from 43 women was assessed at 1505 CpG sites for association with exposure levels of each pollutant. Candidate CpG sites were identified using a Diff Score >|13| (P< 0.05) and an absolute difference >10% which were confirmed using bisulfite pyrosequencing. RESULTS Methylation of the GSTM1/5 promoter was increased for women with higher mercury exposure (P= 0.04); however, no correlation was observed (r= 0.17, P= 0.27). Reduced methylation was detected in the COL1A2 promoter in women with higher exposure to lead (P= 0.004), and an inverse correlation was observed (r = - 0.45, P= 0.03). Lower methylation of a promoter CpG site at the TSP50 gene was detected in women with higher BPA exposure (P= 0.005), and again an inverse correlation was identified (r = - 0.51, P= 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Altered DNA methylation at various CpG sites was associated with exposure to mercury, lead or BPA, providing candidates to be investigated using a larger study sample, as the results may reflect an independently associated predictor (e.g. socioeconomic status, diet, genetic variants, altered blood cell composition). Further studies accommodating variations in these factors will be needed to confirm these associations and identify their underlying causes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney W Hanna
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada
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Taylor JA, Richter CA, Ruhlen RL, vom Saal FS. Estrogenic environmental chemicals and drugs: mechanisms for effects on the developing male urogenital system. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2011; 127:83-95. [PMID: 21827855 PMCID: PMC3191287 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2011.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2011] [Revised: 07/21/2011] [Accepted: 07/22/2011] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Development and differentiation of the prostate from the fetal urogenital sinus (UGS) is dependent on androgen action via androgen receptors (AR) in the UGS mesenchyme. Estrogens are not required for prostate differentiation but do act to modulate androgen action. In mice exposure to exogenous estrogen during development results in permanent effects on adult prostate size and function, which is mediated through mesenchymal estrogen receptor (ER) alpha. For many years estrogens were thought to inhibit prostate growth because estrogenic drugs studied were administered at very high concentrations that interfered with normal prostate development. There is now extensive evidence that exposure to estrogen at very low concentrations during the early stages of prostate differentiation can stimulate fetal/neonatal prostate growth and lead to prostate disease in adulthood. Bisphenol A (BPA) is an environmental endocrine disrupting chemical that binds to both ER receptor subtypes as well as to AR. Interest in BPA has increased because of its prevalence in the environment and its detection in over 90% of people in the USA. In tissue culture of fetal mouse UGS mesenchymal cells, BPA and estradiol stimulated changes in the expression of several genes. We discuss here the potential involvement of estrogen in regulating signaling pathways affecting cellular functions relevant to steroid hormone signaling and metabolism and to inter- and intra-cellular communications that promote cell growth. The findings presented here provide additional evidence that BPA and the estrogenic drug ethinylestradiol disrupt prostate development in male mice at administered doses relevant to human exposures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia A Taylor
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
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31
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vom Saal FS, Akingbemi BT, Belcher SM, Crain DA, Crews D, Guidice LC, Hunt PA, Leranth C, Myers JP, Nadal A, Olea N, Padmanabhan V, Rosenfeld CS, Schneyer A, Schoenfelder G, Sonnenschein C, Soto AM, Stahlhut RW, Swan SH, Vandenberg LN, Wang HS, Watson CS, Welshons WV, Zoeller RT. Flawed Experimental Design Reveals the Need for Guidelines Requiring Appropriate Positive Controls in Endocrine Disruption Research. Toxicol Sci 2010; 115:612-3. [DOI: 10.1093/toxsci/kfq048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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vom Saal FS, Myers JP. Good laboratory practices are not synonymous with good scientific practices, accurate reporting, or valid data. Environ Health Perspect 2010; 118:A60; author reply A61. [PMID: 20123633 PMCID: PMC2831936 DOI: 10.1289/ehp.0901495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
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Myers JP, Zoeller RT, vom Saal FS. A clash of old and new scientific concepts in toxicity, with important implications for public health. Environ Health Perspect 2009; 117:1652-5. [PMID: 20049113 PMCID: PMC2801170 DOI: 10.1289/ehp.0900887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2009] [Accepted: 07/29/2009] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A core assumption of current toxicologic procedures used to establish health standards for chemical exposures is that testing the safety of chemicals at high doses can be used to predict the effects of low-dose exposures, such as those common in the general population. This assumption is based on the precept that "the dose makes the poison": higher doses will cause greater effects. OBJECTIVES We challenge the validity of assuming that high-dose testing can be used to predict low-dose effects for contaminants that behave like hormones. We review data from endocrinology and toxicology that falsify this assumption and summarize current mechanistic understanding of how low doses can lead to effects unpredictable from high-dose experiments. DISCUSSION Falsification of this assumption raises profound issues for regulatory toxicology. Many exposure standards are based on this assumption. Rejecting the assumption will require that these standards be reevaluated and that procedures employed to set health standards be changed. The consequences of these changes may be significant for public health because of the range of health conditions now plausibly linked to exposure to endocrine-disrupting contaminants. CONCLUSIONS We recommend that procedures to establish acceptable exposure levels for endocrine-disrupting compounds incorporate the inability for high-dose tests to predict low-dose results. Setting acceptable levels of exposure must include testing for health consequences at prevalent levels of human exposure, not extrapolations from the effects observed in high-dose experiments. Scientists trained in endocrinology must be engaged systematically in standard setting for endocrine-disrupting compounds.
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Thompson RC, Moore CJ, vom Saal FS, Swan SH. Plastics, the environment and human health: current consensus and future trends. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2009; 364:2153-66. [PMID: 19528062 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2009.0053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1085] [Impact Index Per Article: 72.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Plastics have transformed everyday life; usage is increasing and annual production is likely to exceed 300 million tonnes by 2010. In this concluding paper to the Theme Issue on Plastics, the Environment and Human Health, we synthesize current understanding of the benefits and concerns surrounding the use of plastics and look to future priorities, challenges and opportunities. It is evident that plastics bring many societal benefits and offer future technological and medical advances. However, concerns about usage and disposal are diverse and include accumulation of waste in landfills and in natural habitats, physical problems for wildlife resulting from ingestion or entanglement in plastic, the leaching of chemicals from plastic products and the potential for plastics to transfer chemicals to wildlife and humans. However, perhaps the most important overriding concern, which is implicit throughout this volume, is that our current usage is not sustainable. Around 4 per cent of world oil production is used as a feedstock to make plastics and a similar amount is used as energy in the process. Yet over a third of current production is used to make items of packaging, which are then rapidly discarded. Given our declining reserves of fossil fuels, and finite capacity for disposal of waste to landfill, this linear use of hydrocarbons, via packaging and other short-lived applications of plastic, is simply not sustainable. There are solutions, including material reduction, design for end-of-life recyclability, increased recycling capacity, development of bio-based feedstocks, strategies to reduce littering, the application of green chemistry life-cycle analyses and revised risk assessment approaches. Such measures will be most effective through the combined actions of the public, industry, scientists and policymakers. There is some urgency, as the quantity of plastics produced in the first 10 years of the current century is likely to approach the quantity produced in the entire century that preceded.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard C Thompson
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, Marine Institute, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, UK.
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35
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Talsness CE, Andrade AJM, Kuriyama SN, Taylor JA, vom Saal FS. Components of plastic: experimental studies in animals and relevance for human health. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2009; 364:2079-96. [PMID: 19528057 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2008.0281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 324] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Components used in plastics, such as phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) and tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), are detected in humans. In addition to their utility in plastics, an inadvertent characteristic of these chemicals is the ability to alter the endocrine system. Phthalates function as anti-androgens while the main action attributed to BPA is oestrogen-like activity. PBDE and TBBPA have been shown to disrupt thyroid hormone homeostasis while PBDEs also exhibit anti-androgen action. Experimental investigations in animals indicate a wide variety of effects associated with exposure to these compounds, causing concern regarding potential risk to human health. For example, the spectrum of effects following perinatal exposure of male rats to phthalates has remarkable similarities to the testicular dysgenesis syndrome in humans. Concentrations of BPA in the foetal mouse within the range of unconjugated BPA levels observed in human foetal blood have produced effects in animal experiments. Finally, thyroid hormones are essential for normal neurological development and reproductive function. Human body burdens of these chemicals are detected with high prevalence, and concentrations in young children, a group particularly sensitive to exogenous insults, are typically higher, indicating the need to decrease exposure to these compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris E Talsness
- Department of Toxicology, Institute of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Charité University Medical School Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
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Abstract
Within the last few decades, plastics have revolutionized our daily lives. Globally we use in excess of 260 million tonnes of plastic per annum, accounting for approximately 8 per cent of world oil production. In this Theme Issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, we describe current and future trends in usage, together with the many benefits that plastics bring to society. At the same time, we examine the environmental consequences resulting from the accumulation of waste plastic, the effects of plastic debris on wildlife and concerns for human health that arise from the production, usage and disposal of plastics. Finally, we consider some possible solutions to these problems together with the research and policy priorities necessary for their implementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard C Thompson
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, Marine Institute, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, UK.
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Heindel JJ, vom Saal FS. Role of nutrition and environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals during the perinatal period on the aetiology of obesity. Mol Cell Endocrinol 2009; 304:90-6. [PMID: 19433253 DOI: 10.1016/j.mce.2009.02.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 144] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2009] [Accepted: 02/24/2009] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The basis for the current obesity epidemic remains controversial. However, the simplistic idea that obesity can be explained by two factors: energy intake and energy expenditure, is now being challenged due to the lack of success in decreasing obesity based on a focus on only these two factors. In this article we propose an emerging hypothesis that the recent dramatic increase in obesity could be due to developmental nutrition, developmental exposure to environmental chemicals or the interaction of nutrition and environmental chemical exposures during development. Indeed, developmental exposure to environmental chemicals in animal studies has been shown to increase the susceptibility to a number of diseases including obesity. Obesity is thus one of many diseases shown to have a developmental origin. We show that factors that impact growth during fetal and neonatal life, such as placental blood flow and nutrient transport to fetuses, as well as components of the maternal and infant diets, can influence weight gain later in life. In addition, we show that developmental exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals can create abnormalities in homeostatic control systems required to maintain a normal body weight throughout life. Eliminating exposures to these chemicals and improving nutrition during development offer the potential for reducing obesity and associated diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerrold J Heindel
- Division of Extramural Research and Training, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH/DHHS, Cellular, Organs and Systems Pathobiology Branch, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA.
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Myers JP, vom Saal FS, Akingbemi BT, Arizono K, Belcher S, Colborn T, Chahoud I, Crain DA, Farabollini F, Guillette LJ, Hassold T, Ho SM, Hunt PA, Iguchi T, Jobling S, Kanno J, Laufer H, Marcus M, McLachlan JA, Nadal A, Oehlmann J, Olea N, Palanza P, Parmigiani S, Rubin BS, Schoenfelder G, Sonnenschein C, Soto AM, Talsness CE, Taylor JA, Vandenberg LN, Vandenbergh JG, Vogel S, Watson CS, Welshons WV, Zoeller RT. Why public health agencies cannot depend on good laboratory practices as a criterion for selecting data: the case of bisphenol A. Environ Health Perspect 2009; 117:309-15. [PMID: 19337501 PMCID: PMC2661896 DOI: 10.1289/ehp.0800173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 127] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2008] [Accepted: 10/22/2008] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In their safety evaluations of bisphenol A (BPA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a counterpart in Europe, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), have given special prominence to two industry-funded studies that adhered to standards defined by Good Laboratory Practices (GLP). These same agencies have given much less weight in risk assessments to a large number of independently replicated non-GLP studies conducted with government funding by the leading experts in various fields of science from around the world. OBJECTIVES We reviewed differences between industry-funded GLP studies of BPA conducted by commercial laboratories for regulatory purposes and non-GLP studies conducted in academic and government laboratories to identify hazards and molecular mechanisms mediating adverse effects. We examined the methods and results in the GLP studies that were pivotal in the draft decision of the U.S. FDA declaring BPA safe in relation to findings from studies that were competitive for U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, peer-reviewed for publication in leading journals, subject to independent replication, but rejected by the U.S. FDA for regulatory purposes. DISCUSSION Although the U.S. FDA and EFSA have deemed two industry-funded GLP studies of BPA to be superior to hundreds of studies funded by the U.S. NIH and NIH counterparts in other countries, the GLP studies on which the agencies based their decisions have serious conceptual and methodologic flaws. In addition, the U.S. FDA and EFSA have mistakenly assumed that GLP yields valid and reliable scientific findings (i.e., "good science"). Their rationale for favoring GLP studies over hundreds of publically funded studies ignores the central factor in determining the reliability and validity of scientific findings, namely, independent replication, and use of the most appropriate and sensitive state-of-the-art assays, neither of which is an expectation of industry-funded GLP research. CONCLUSIONS Public health decisions should be based on studies using appropriate protocols with appropriate controls and the most sensitive assays, not GLP. Relevant NIH-funded research using state-of-the-art techniques should play a prominent role in safety evaluations of chemicals.
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vom Saal FS, Parmigiani S, Palanza PL, Everett LG, Ragaini R. The plastic world: sources, amounts, ecological impacts and effects on development, reproduction, brain and behavior in aquatic and terrestrial animals and humans. Environ Res 2008; 108:127-130. [PMID: 18949830 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2008.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Frederick S vom Saal
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
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Abstract
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a widespread estrogenic chemical used in the production of polycarbonate, and epoxy resins lining food and beverage cans and in dental sealants. During fetal life the intrauterine environment is critical for the normal development, and even small changes in the levels of hormones, such as estradiol or estrogen-mimicking chemicals, can lead to changes in brain function and consequently in behavior. We review here a series of ethological studies on the effects of maternal oral exposure during the last part of gestation (prenatal exposure) or from gestation day 11 to postnatal day 7 (perinatal exposure) to a low, environmentally relevant dose of BPA (10 microg/kg bw/day) on behavioral responses of CD-1 mouse offspring. We examined both male and female offspring and found that maternal exposure to BPA affected: (1) behavioral responses to novelty before puberty and, as adults; (2) exploration and activity in a free-exploratory open field; (3) exploration in the elevated plus maze and (4) sensitivity to amphetamine-induced reward in the conditioned place preference test. A consistent effect of the maternal exposure to BPA is that in all these different experimental settings, while a significant sex difference was observed in the control group, exposure to BPA decreased or eliminated the sex difference in behavior. In addition, exposure of female mice to BPA in both adulthood or during fetal life altered subsequent maternal behavior. These findings, together with those from other laboratories, are evidence of long-term consequences of maternal exposure to low-dose BPA at the level of neurobehavioral development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Palanza
- Dipartimento di Biologia Evolutiva e Funzionale, University of Parma, Viale Usberti 11A, 43100 Parma, Italy.
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Ruhlen RL, Howdeshell KL, Mao J, Taylor JA, Bronson FH, Newbold RR, Welshons WV, vom Saal FS. Low phytoestrogen levels in feed increase fetal serum estradiol resulting in the "fetal estrogenization syndrome" and obesity in CD-1 mice. Environ Health Perspect 2008; 116:322-8. [PMID: 18335098 PMCID: PMC2265041 DOI: 10.1289/ehp.10448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2007] [Accepted: 11/26/2007] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although estrogenic chemicals can disrupt development of the reproductive system, there is debate about whether phytoestrogens in soy are beneficial, benign, or harmful. OBJECTIVES We compared reproductive and metabolic characteristics in male and female mice reared and maintained on non-soy low-phytoestrogen feed or soy-based high-phytoestrogen feed. METHODS The low-phytoestrogen diet was non-soy PMI 5K96 (verified casein diet), and the high-phytoestrogen diet consisted of soy-based PMI 5008 during pregnancy and lactation and soy-based PMI 5001 maintenance feed after weaning. RESULTS In fetuses whose mothers consumed the low-phytoestrogen PMI 5K96 feed, we found a paradoxical significant elevation in endogenous serum estradiol, which was associated postnatally with adverse reproductive outcomes referred to as the "fetal estrogenization syndrome (FES)". In females, this syndrome included early puberty and increased uterine responsiveness to estrogen, and in males, it included reduced testis, epididymis, and seminal vesicle size, but an enlarged prostate. The low-phytoestrogen-fed males and females were lighter at birth, but, between weaning and adulthood, they became obese and developed abnormally high serum leptin levels; these males, but not females, showed impaired glucose regulation. CONCLUSIONS Removing phytoestrogens from mouse feed produces an obese phenotype consistent with metabolic syndrome, and the associated reproductive system abnormalities are consistent with FES due to elevated endogenous fetal estradiol. Laboratory rodents may have become adapted to high-phytoestrogen intake over many generations of being fed soy-based commercial feed; removing all phytoestrogens from feed leads to alterations that could disrupt many types of biomedical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel L. Ruhlen
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | - Kembra L. Howdeshell
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | - Jiude Mao
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | - Julia A. Taylor
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | | | - Retha R. Newbold
- Developmental Endocrinology and Endocrine Disruptor Section, Laboratory of Molecular Toxicology, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
| | - Wade V. Welshons
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | - Frederick S. vom Saal
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA
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Heindel JJ, vom Saal FS. Meeting report: batch-to-batch variability in estrogenic activity in commercial animal diets--importance and approaches for laboratory animal research. Environ Health Perspect 2008; 116:389-93. [PMID: 18335108 PMCID: PMC2265035 DOI: 10.1289/ehp.10524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2007] [Accepted: 12/05/2007] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
We report information from two workshops sponsored by the National Institutes of Health that were held to a) assess whether dietary estrogens could significantly impact end points in experimental animals, and b) involve program participants and feed manufacturers to address the problems associated with measuring and eliminating batch-to-batch variability in rodent diets that may lead to conflicting findings in animal experiments within and between laboratories. Data were presented at the workshops showing that there is significant batch-to-batch variability in estrogenic content of commercial animal diets, and that this variability results in differences in experimental outcomes. A combination of methods were proposed to determine levels of total estrogenic activity and levels of specific estrogenic constituents in soy-containing, casein-containing, and other soy-free rodent diets. Workshop participants recommended that researchers pay greater attention to the type of diet being used in animal studies and choose a diet whose estrogenic activity (or lack thereof) is appropriate for the experimental model and end points of interest. Information about levels of specific phytoestrogens, as well as estrogenic activity caused by other contaminants and measured by bioassay, should be disclosed in scientific publications. This will require laboratory animal diet manufacturers to provide investigators with information regarding the phytoestrogen content and other estrogenic compounds in commercial diets used in animal research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerrold J Heindel
- Division of Extramural Research and Training, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA.
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Coe BL, Kirkpatrick JR, Taylor JA, vom Saal FS. A new 'crowded uterine horn' mouse model for examining the relationship between foetal growth and adult obesity. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol 2008; 102:162-7. [PMID: 18226070 DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-7843.2007.00195.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Obesity is an increasing health problem, not only in developed countries but also all over the world. In addition to the focus on food intake and energy expenditure, current studies suggest two other important influences on adult body weight: birth weight and postnatal rate of growth. A common procedure in laboratory animal studies to examine the relationship of low birth weight and adult obesity is maternal nutrient restriction, but maternal undernutrition is not the basis for the majority of obese individuals in developed countries. We have thus developed a new mouse model for human obesity referred to as 'the crowded uterine horn model'. By removing one ovary from a female CD-1 mouse, the female produces a litter of about 13 pups in one uterine horn, resulting in crowding and a 4-fold difference in placental blood flow among foetuses in a litter. Restricted placental blood flow results in intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR); these animals show a 2-fold increase in body weight during the week after weaning, while macrosomial foetuses that go through a very small amount of growth during the same postnatal period. Male mice categorized as IUGR or macrosomic at birth both are obese in adulthood. This pattern of changes in body weight throughout life in male mice mirrors findings from epidemiological studies of human foetuses with IUGR and macrosomia who become obese, and thus may provide a new model that reflects the condition of people in developed countries who become obese.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin L Coe
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
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vom Saal FS, Akingbemi BT, Belcher SM, Birnbaum LS, Crain DA, Eriksen M, Farabollini F, Guillette LJ, Hauser R, Heindel JJ, Ho SM, Hunt PA, Iguchi T, Jobling S, Kanno J, Keri RA, Knudsen KE, Laufer H, LeBlanc GA, Marcus M, McLachlan JA, Myers JP, Nadal A, Newbold RR, Olea N, Prins GS, Richter CA, Rubin BS, Sonnenschein C, Soto AM, Talsness CE, Vandenbergh JG, Vandenberg LN, Walser-Kuntz DR, Watson CS, Welshons WV, Wetherill Y, Zoeller RT. Chapel Hill bisphenol A expert panel consensus statement: integration of mechanisms, effects in animals and potential to impact human health at current levels of exposure. Reprod Toxicol 2007; 24:131-8. [PMID: 17768031 PMCID: PMC2967230 DOI: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2007.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 544] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2007] [Revised: 07/11/2007] [Accepted: 07/20/2007] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Benson T. Akingbemi
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, United States
| | - Scott M. Belcher
- Department of Pharmacology and Cell Biophysics, Center for Environmental Genetics, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45267, United States
| | - Linda S. Birnbaum
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, United States
| | - D. Andrew Crain
- Biology Department, Maryville College, Maryville, TN 37804, United States
| | - Marcus Eriksen
- Algalita Marine Research Foundation, Los Angeles, CA 90034, United States
| | | | - Louis J. Guillette
- Department of Zoology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, United States
| | - Russ Hauser
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, United States
| | - Jerrold J. Heindel
- Division of Extramural Research and Training, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, United States
| | - Shuk-Mei Ho
- Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati Medical School, Cincinnati, OH 45267, United States
| | - Patricia A. Hunt
- School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, United States
| | - Taisen Iguchi
- National Institutes of Natural Science, Okazaki Institute For Integrative Bioscience Bioenvironmental Science, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8787, Japan
| | - Susan Jobling
- Department of Biological Sciences, Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UK
| | - Jun Kanno
- Division of Cellular & Molecular Toxicology, National Institute of Health Sciences, Tokyo 158-8501, Japan
| | - Ruth A. Keri
- Department of Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, United States
| | - Karen E. Knudsen
- Department of Cell and Cancer Biology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45267, United States
| | - Hans Laufer
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, United States
| | - Gerald A. LeBlanc
- Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, United States
| | - Michele Marcus
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States
| | - John A. McLachlan
- Center for Bioenvironmental Research, Tulane and Xavier Universities, New Orleans, LA 70112, United States
| | | | - Angel Nadal
- Instituto de Bioingeniería, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Elche 03202, Alicante, Spain
| | - Retha R. Newbold
- Laboratory of Molecular Toxicology, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, United States
| | - Nicolas Olea
- CIBERESP Hospital Clinico-University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Gail S. Prins
- Department of Urology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, United States
| | | | - Beverly S. Rubin
- Department of Anatomy and Cellular Biology, Tufts Medical School, Boston, MA 02111, United States
| | - Carlos Sonnenschein
- Department of Anatomy and Cellular Biology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111, United States
| | - Ana M. Soto
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111, United States
| | - Chris E. Talsness
- Charité University Medical School Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Institute of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Toxicology, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - John G. Vandenbergh
- Department of Zoology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, United States
| | - Laura N. Vandenberg
- Tufts University Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Boston, MA 02111, United States
| | | | - Cheryl S. Watson
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, United States
| | - Wade V. Welshons
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, United States
| | - Yelena Wetherill
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, United States
| | - R. Thomas Zoeller
- Biology Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, United States
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Richter CA, Birnbaum LS, Farabollini F, Newbold RR, Rubin BS, Talsness CE, Vandenbergh JG, Walser-Kuntz DR, vom Saal FS. In vivo effects of bisphenol A in laboratory rodent studies. Reprod Toxicol 2007; 24:199-224. [PMID: 17683900 PMCID: PMC2151845 DOI: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2007.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 809] [Impact Index Per Article: 47.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2007] [Revised: 06/06/2007] [Accepted: 06/11/2007] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Concern is mounting regarding the human health and environmental effects of bisphenol A (BPA), a high-production-volume chemical used in synthesis of plastics. We have reviewed the growing literature on effects of low doses of BPA, below 50 mg/(kg day), in laboratory exposures with mammalian model organisms. Many, but not all, effects of BPA are similar to effects seen in response to the model estrogens diethylstilbestrol and ethinylestradiol. For most effects, the potency of BPA is approximately 10-1000-fold less than that of diethylstilbestrol or ethinylestradiol. Based on our review of the literature, a consensus was reached regarding our level of confidence that particular outcomes occur in response to low dose BPA exposure. We are confident that adult exposure to BPA affects the male reproductive tract, and that long lasting, organizational effects in response to developmental exposure to BPA occur in the brain, the male reproductive system, and metabolic processes. We consider it likely, but requiring further confirmation, that adult exposure to BPA affects the brain, the female reproductive system, and the immune system, and that developmental effects occur in the female reproductive system.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Retha R. Newbold
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH, DHHS, Research Triangle Park, NC
| | - Beverly S. Rubin
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
| | - Chris E. Talsness
- Institute of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Richter CA, Taylor JA, Ruhlen RL, Welshons WV, vom Saal FS. Estradiol and Bisphenol A stimulate androgen receptor and estrogen receptor gene expression in fetal mouse prostate mesenchyme cells. Environ Health Perspect 2007; 115:902-8. [PMID: 17589598 PMCID: PMC1892114 DOI: 10.1289/ehp.9804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2006] [Accepted: 02/27/2007] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hormonal alterations during development have lifelong effects on the prostate gland. Endogenous estrogens, including 17beta-estradiol (E(2)), and synthetic estrogenic endocrine disruptors, such as bisphenol A (BPA), have similar effects on prostate development. Increasing exposure to estrogens within the low-dose, physiologic range results in permanent increases in the size and androgen responsiveness of the prostate, whereas exposure within the high-dose, pharmacologic range has the opposite effects. OBJECTIVES We tested the hypothesis that the low-dose effects of estrogens on the developing prostate are associated with increased expression of androgen receptor (Ar) and estrogen receptor 1 (alpha) (Esr1) genes in mesenchyme cells. METHODS Ar and Esr1 mRNA levels were quantified in primary cultures of fetal mouse prostate mesenchyme cells treated with E(2) and BPA. DISCUSSION Ar and Esr1 mRNA expression increased in response to E(2), with thresholds of 0.001 and 0.037 nM, respectively; and in response to BPA, with a threshold of 1 nM for both mRNAs. We did not observe the expected inhibition of Ar mRNA expression by pharmacologic levels of E(2) relative to unexposed cells. CONCLUSIONS The observed induction of gene expression occurred at concentrations within the range of free E(2) previously shown to permanently increase prostate size, thus supporting the involvement of direct effects of estrogens on gene expression in prostate mesenchyme. The effects of BPA occurred within the range of concentrations currently measured in human serum, demonstrating the vulnerability of developing tissues to xenoestrogens.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Wade V. Welshons
- Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederick S vom Saal
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, 105 Lefevre Hall, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederick S vom Saal
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA.
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Abstract
Over 6 billion pounds per year of the estrogenic monomer bisphenol A (BPA) are used to manufacture polycarbonate plastic products, in resins lining metal cans, in dental sealants, and in blends with other types of plastic products. The ester bond linking BPA molecules in polycarbonate and resins undergoes hydrolysis, resulting in the release of free BPA into food, beverages, and the environment, and numerous monitoring studies now show almost ubiquitous human exposure to biologically active levels of this chemical. BPA exerts estrogenic effects through the classical nuclear estrogen receptors, and BPA acts as a selective estrogen receptor modulator. However, BPA also initiates rapid responses via estrogen receptors presumably associated with the plasma membrane. Similar to estradiol, BPA causes changes in some cell functions at concentrations between 1 pM and 1 nM, and the mean and median range of unconjugated BPA measured by multiple techniques in human pregnant maternal, fetal, and adult blood and other tissues exceeds these levels. In contrast to these published findings, BPA manufacturers persist in describing BPA as a weak estrogen and insist there is little concern with human exposure levels. Our concern with human exposure to BPA derives from 1) identification of molecular mechanisms mediating effects in human and animal tissues at very low doses, 2) in vivo effects in experimental animals caused by low doses within the range of human exposure, and 3) widespread human exposure to levels of BPA that cause adverse effects in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wade V Welshons
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, E102 Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri 65211-5120, USA.
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