Melatonin attenuates bisphenol A‐induced alterations in the cardio‐renal system of rats through the antioxidant defense mechanism

Abstract

Bisphenol A (BPA), an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) used in the production of plastics and epoxy resins has been incriminated in a number of biological dysfunctions while melatonin (MLT) is a known antioxidant capable of ameliorating EDC‐induced perturbations. Although limited number of studies exist on the effect of BPA on the cardio‐renal system, there is the dearth of research information on the effect of MLT on rats exposed to environmentally relevant doses of BPA. This study was therefore designed to investigate the effects of MLT on BPA‐induced alterations in the cardio‐renal system of rats. Gravid rats were randomly assigned into five groups (n=5): Group 1 (control) received 0.2 mL 1% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)/99% canola oil as vehicle; Group 2 received BPA at 25 μg/kg/day; Group 3 received BPA at 250 μg/kg/day; Group 4 received BPA at 25 μg/kg/day with concurrent MLT 1 mg/kg/day; and Group 5 received BPA at 250 μg/kg/day with concurrent MLT 1 mg/kg/day. All treatments were administered by gavage from gestational day (GD) 10–21. Thereafter, three male offspring randomly from each litter per group (n=15) were weighed; blood pressure parameters and electrocardiogram taken on post‐natal day (PND) 120. The heart and kidney samples were harvested for markers of oxidative stress and antioxidant defense system, histopathology and histochemistry using standard methods. BPA induced a significant increase in heart rate but significantly decrease systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressure. Exposure to BPA caused significant decrease in P wave interval, PR duration, R wave amplitude and QT interval but significant increase in QRS duration. Also, BPA significantly elevated both cardiac and renal MDA, H2O2, GSH and GPx. Cardiac and renal lesions induced by BPA included erosion of epithelial cells, congestion of blood vessels as well as necrosis. Moreover, BPA induced a significant reduction in cardiac and renal polysaccharide activities. However, the concomitant treatment with MLT attenuated all the observed BPA‐induced alterations of the cardio‐renal system. Hence, MLT attenuates alterations induced by environmentally relevant doses of BPA in the cardio‐renal system.Support or Funding InformationNoneThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.