title: Unconjugated bisphenol A cord blood levels in boys with descended or undescended testes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Human toxicity of bisphenol A (BPA), a weak estrogenic environmental endocrine disrupting compound, widely used in plastics, baby bottles, cans and dental sealants, is under investigation. Fetal or perinatal exposure in rodents is associated with programmed adult reproductive diseases. Human epidemiological studies remain scarce, especially concerning testicular development. We have investigated the relationship between fetal exposure to BPA and cryptorchidism.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a radioimmunoassay performed after extraction, validated by high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, active levels of unconjugated BPA (uBPA) in cord blood (CB) were measured in 152 boys born after 34 weeks gestation, with cryptorchid or descended testes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Active uBPA was detectable in all CB samples, with values in the control group (n = 106) of 0.14-4.76 ng/ml, median: 0.9 ng/ml; mean ± SD: 1.12 ng/ml ± 0.86 ng/ml, which did not differ from cryptorchid boys (n = 46, 1.26 ± 1.13 ng/ml, P = 0.38). uBPA in controls correlated with CB inhibin B (P < 0.01) and total testosterone (P < 0.05), and with maternal milk polychlorinated bisphenyl 138 (P < 0.03). uBPA did not correlate with clinical maternal or fetal parameters or with other steroid or polypeptide CB hormones assessed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The presence of uBPA in all CB samples suggests placental transfer and fetal exposure. Similar uBPA levels in the control and cryptorchid groups make the participation of fetal exposure to uBPA in the physiopathology of undescended testes unlikely. However, the observed nanomolar uBPA concentrations support assessment of epidemiological relationships between CB uBPA and other human diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, University Hospital of Nice, 06602 Nice, France. fenichel.p@chu-nice.fr
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fénichel
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Déchaux
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Harthe
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gal
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pacini
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wagner-Mahler
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pugeat
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Brucker-Davis
mesh_terms: D001896:Boron Compounds / Q000097:blood* / Q000633:toxicity; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003456:Cryptorchidism / Q000097:blood*; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000097:blood* / Q000633:toxicity; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry; D010649:Phenylalanine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: C436045:4-dihydroxyborylphenylalanine; D001896:Boron Compounds; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D013739:Testosterone; D010649:Phenylalanine