Exposure to low doses of bisphenol A (BPA) during gestation has immediate and long-lasting, trans-generational effects on the brain and social behaviors in mice, according to a recent study accepted for publication in the journal Endocrinology.
BPA is a man-made chemical present in various products, including food containers, receipt paper, and dental sealants, and is now widely detected in human urine and blood. Public health concerns have been fueled by findings that BPA exposure can influence brain development. In mice, prenatal exposure to BPA is associated with increased anxiety, aggression, and cognitive impairments.
"We have demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge that BPA has trans-generational actions on social behavior and neural expression," said lead author Emilie Rissman, PhD, of the University of Virginia School of Medicine, in a press release. "Since exposure to BPA changes social interactions in mice at a dose within the reported human levels, it is possible that this compound has trans-generational actions on human behavior."
In this study, female mice received chow with or without BPA before mating and throughout gestation. Plasma levels of BPA in supplemented female mice were in a range similar to those measured in humans. Juveniles in the first generation exposed to BPA in utero displayed fewer social interactions as compared with control mice. The changes in genes were most dramatic in the first generation (the offspring of the mice that were exposed to BPA in utero), but some of these gene changes persisted into the fourth generation.
