News Release

Fetal BPA exposure in mice linked to estrogen-related diseases after adolescence

New research in The FASEB Journal suggests that fetal BPA exposure alters the estrogen response in more than 1,000 genes in the uterine epigenome and affects the subsequent estrogen response after puberty

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

Low levels of BPA exposure may be considered safe, but new research published online in The FASEB Journal, suggests otherwise. In the report, researchers from Yale show that the genome is permanently altered in the uterus of mice that had been exposed to BPA during their fetal development. These changes were found to mainly affect genes that are regulated by estrogen and are implicated in the formation of estrogen-related diseases such as infertility, endometriosis, endometrial cancer, osteoporosis, prostate cancer, neurodegenerative disease, obesity and breast cancer.

"Our study demonstrates that fetal exposure to BPA leads to a detrimental change in the adult uterine response to estrogens," said Hugh S. Taylor, M.D., a senior researcher involved in the work and Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. "Our study confirms that BPA is an active compound and can negatively impact fetal development and confirms that steps should be taken to reduce maternal consumption of BPA during gestation."

To make this discovery, Taylor and colleagues used two groups of pregnant mice. One group was exposed to human ranges of BPA by intraperitoneal infusion and the other group was not. The researchers then analyzed the genetic and epigenetic profile of the uterus in the female offspring before sexual maturation and examined how the uterine genes responded to estrogen in each of these groups. They found that even though changes to the uterus may not be present at birth or in early post-natal life, changes become apparent after sexual maturity. The study demonstrated a direct change in the estrogen responses of almost 1,000 genes after fetal BPA exposure.

"This study reaches into the antecedent fetal exposure axis and reveals a striking, delayed onset of uterine gene expression effects in the offspring," said Thoru Pederson, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "To the extent that these findings could be envisioned to translate to the human, we have in this study a very important body of information."

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Submit to The FASEB Journal by visiting http://fasebj.msubmit.net, and receive monthly highlights by signing up at http://www.faseb.org/fjupdate.aspx. The FASEB Journal is published by the Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). It is the world's most cited biology journal according to the Institute for Scientific Information and has been recognized by the Special Libraries Association as one of the top 100 most influential biomedical journals of the past century.

FASEB is composed of 30 societies with more than 125,000 members, making it the largest coalition of biomedical research associations in the United States. Our mission is to advance health and welfare by promoting progress and education in biological and biomedical sciences through service to our member societies and collaborative advocacy.

Details: Elisa M. Jorgensen, Myles H. Alderman III, and Hugh S. Taylor. Preferential epigenetic programming of estrogen response after in utero xenoestrogen (bisphenol-A) exposure. FASEB J. doi:10.1096/fj.201500089R ; http://www.fasebj.org/content/early/2016/06/16/fj.201500089R.abstract


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