J Korean Child Neurol Soc.  2013 Dec;21(4):219-230.

Effect of Gestational Exposure to Bisphenol A on Cell Proliferation and Differentiation in the Neonatal Rat Brain

• An HS
• Kim JM
• Hwang KG

Abstract

PURPOSE
Bisphenol A (BPA), a plasticizer, shows estrogenic activity at low concentrations in cells expressing estrogen receptors, and therefore, it is classified as an endocrine disruptor. Although many studies have focused on the toxicity of BPA to the reproductive and immune systems, relatively less attention has been given to the effect of BPA on the central nervous system. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in cell proliferation and differentiation during infant brain development in BPA-exposed pregnant rats.
METHODS
Two different doses of BPA were exposed to pregnant rats: (1) a low dose (0.01 mg/kg-bw/day) and (2) a high dose (1 mg/kg-bw/day). Infant brains were excised at days 3, 7, and 14 after birth, and tissues were processed for histological and biochemical analyses.
RESULTS
Immunohistochemistry for proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) showed that although cells in the cerebral cortex at days 3 and 7 after birth were highly proliferating, the cells at day 14 divided less often. Immunopositive cells for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were observed from days 7 to 14 in control tissues. Western blotting clearly showed that exposure to BPA in pregnant rats resulted in increased GFAP protein expression in the infant rat brain compared to the controls.
CONCLUSION
Exposure to BPA during the gestational period might result in precocious neurogenesis in the infant rat brain.

Keyword

Bisphenol A; Exposed pregnant rat; Infant brain; Astocyte; Proliferation; Differentiation; Neuronal cell

MeSH Terms

Animals
Blotting, Western
Brain*
Cell Proliferation*
Central Nervous System
Cerebral Cortex
Estrogens
Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein
Humans
Immune System
Immunohistochemistry
Infant
Neurogenesis
Parturition
Plastics
Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen
Rats*
Receptors, Estrogen
Estrogens
Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein
Plastics
Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen
Receptors, Estrogen