Abstract
BackgroundBisphenol-A (BPA) is a polymerizing agent used in plastic bottles and several routinely used consumer items. It is classified among endocrine disrupting chemicals suspected to cause adverse health effects in mammals ranging from infertility and cancer to behavioral disorders. Work with the invertebrate lab model Caenorhabditis elegans has shown that BPA affects germ cells by disrupting double-stranded DNA break repair mechanisms. The current study utilizes this model organism to provide insight into low-dose and long-term behavioral effects of BPA and bisphenol-S (BPS), a supposed safer replacement for BPA.FindingsExperiments presented in our report demonstrate that the effects of embryonic exposure to considerably low levels of BPA persist into adulthood, affecting neural functionality as assayed by measuring habituation to mechano-sensory stimuli in C. elegans. These results are noteworthy in that they are based on low-dose exposures, following the rationale that subtler effects that may not be morphologically apparent are likely to be discernible through behavioral changes. In addition, we report that embryonic exposure to BPS follows a pattern similar to BPA.ConclusionsBuilding upon previous observations using the C. elegans model, we have shown that exposure of embryos to BPA and BPS affects their behavior as adults. These long-term effects are in line with recommended alternate low-dose chemical safety testing approaches. Our observation that the effects of BPS are similar to BPA is not unexpected, considering their structural similarity. This, to our knowledge, is the first reported behavioral study on low-dose toxicity of any endocrine disrupting chemical in C. elegans.
Highlights
Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a polymerizing agent used in plastic bottles and several routinely used consumer items
Building upon previous observations using the C. elegans model, we have shown that exposure of embryos to BPA and BPS affects their behavior as adults
BPA exhibits hormone-like properties, mimicking 17-β Estradiol (E2) and is classified as an endocrine disrupting compound (EDC) [2]
Summary
Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a polymerizing agent used in plastic bottles and several routinely used consumer items. It is classified among endocrine disrupting chemicals suspected to cause adverse health effects in mammals ranging from infertility and cancer to behavioral disorders. The human health impact of bisphenol-A (BPA or 4,4′-isopropylidenediphenol), which is in commercial use since the 1960s, has been under scrutiny in recent years. BPA is suspected to induce pre-term birth in pregnant women [4], and is reported to cause adverse health effects including nervous system disorders in both, children and adults [5, 6]. Considering the fundamentally essential roles of E2 in development and the Mersha et al Behav Brain Funct (2015) 11:27
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