Lack of effects for dietary exposure of bisphenol A during in utero and lactational periods on reproductive development in rat offspring.
The potential for health effects on humans with exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) has raised concerns, and the adverse effects of low-dose exposure to BPA on reproduction have been controversial. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of low-dose exposure to BPA on reproductive development in F(1) rat offspring. Pregnant female Sprague-Dawley rats (F(0)) were fed a diet containing low doses of BPA (0, 0.33, 3.3, or 33 ppm) from gestational day (GD) 6 through postnatal day (PND) 21. The weanlings (F(1)) from all dose groups were fed a normal diet ad libitum after weaning and then were subjected to necropsy at 5 weeks or 3 months of age. No BPA-related changes were observed in body weight or weight of any of the major reproductive organs in F(1) males and females. Epididymis weight was significantly lower only in 3-month-old F(1) males exposed to 33 ppm BPA. Anogenital distance (AGD), the ratio of AGD to the cube root of body weight, and relative ovary weight were significantly lower in 5-week-old F(1) females exposed to 3.3 and 33 ppm BPA, but significant differences were not observed in 3-month-old females. There were no BPA-related effects on cauda epididymal sperm motility in 3-month-old F(1) males. Plasma reproductive steroid hormone concentrations were not altered among groups in either sex. These outcomes indicate that low-dose exposure to BPA in the diet does not adversely affect reproductive development in F(1) rat offspring.
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Kawasaki, Japan. kobayasi@h.jniosh.go.jp
Kenichi
K
Kobayashi
Hisayo
H
Kubota
Katsumi
K
Ohtani
Rieko
R
Hojo
Muneyuki
M
Miyagawa
D000818:Animals; D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D004032:Diet; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005835:Genitalia / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development*; D006728:Hormones / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D007774:Lactation; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D010636:Phenols / Q000633:toxicity*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012098:Reproduction / Q000187:drug effects*; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000187:drug effects; D014886:Weaning; D000098826:Bisphenol A Compounds
D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds; D006728:Hormones; D010636:Phenols; C006780:bisphenol A; D000098826:Bisphenol A Compounds