TY - JOUR
T1 - Low dose effects of bisphenol A on sexual differentiation of the brain and behavior in rats
AU - Kubo, Kazuhiko
AU - Arai, Okio
AU - Omura, Minoru
AU - Watanabe, Rumi
AU - Ogata, Rika
AU - Aou, Shuji
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Dr B. Quinn for critical comments and help in preparing this manuscript. We also thank T. Yasaka, Y. Saito and H. Mizuguchi for technical assistance. This work was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Nos. 13470015 and 13027266 to Shuji Aou, and 11839017 to Minoru Omura) from the Ministry of Education, Science.
PY - 2003/3/1
Y1 - 2003/3/1
N2 - There is an endocrinological concern that environmental endocrine disrupters (EEDs) may influence sexual differentiation. Bisphenol A (BPA), one of EEDs, is released from polycarbonate plastics, and has been detected in the human umbilical cord. In this study, we examined the effect of BPA on the sexual differentiation of open-field behavior and the sexually dimorphic nuclei in the brain in the offspring of rats exposed to BPA during the fetal and suckling periods at a dosage below the human tolerable daily intake (TDI) level. In the control group, females were more active in the open field and had a larger locus coeruleus (LC) volume than males. BPA abolished and inverted the sex differences of the open-field behavior and the LC volume, respectively, without affecting the reproductive system. We also compared the effects of estrogenic compounds, diethylstilbestrol (DES) and resveratrol (RVT), to that of BPA because of their structural similarities. DES affected the open-field behavior, LC volume and reproductive system, while RVT affected the LC volume and the reproductive system. These results suggest that the brain is highly sensitive to BPA at a dosage below TDI and that the disrupting effects of BPA on sexual differentiation may vary from those of RVT and DES.
AB - There is an endocrinological concern that environmental endocrine disrupters (EEDs) may influence sexual differentiation. Bisphenol A (BPA), one of EEDs, is released from polycarbonate plastics, and has been detected in the human umbilical cord. In this study, we examined the effect of BPA on the sexual differentiation of open-field behavior and the sexually dimorphic nuclei in the brain in the offspring of rats exposed to BPA during the fetal and suckling periods at a dosage below the human tolerable daily intake (TDI) level. In the control group, females were more active in the open field and had a larger locus coeruleus (LC) volume than males. BPA abolished and inverted the sex differences of the open-field behavior and the LC volume, respectively, without affecting the reproductive system. We also compared the effects of estrogenic compounds, diethylstilbestrol (DES) and resveratrol (RVT), to that of BPA because of their structural similarities. DES affected the open-field behavior, LC volume and reproductive system, while RVT affected the LC volume and the reproductive system. These results suggest that the brain is highly sensitive to BPA at a dosage below TDI and that the disrupting effects of BPA on sexual differentiation may vary from those of RVT and DES.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0037333736&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0037333736&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S0168-0102(02)00251-1
DO - 10.1016/S0168-0102(02)00251-1
M3 - Article
C2 - 12631470
AN - SCOPUS:0037333736
SN - 0168-0102
VL - 45
SP - 345
EP - 356
JO - Neuroscience Research
JF - Neuroscience Research
IS - 3
ER -