Prenatal exposure to Bisphenol‐F followed by chronic estrogen exposure in adulthood increases systolic blood pressure in female rats

Abstract

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) such as bisphenols and phthalates are produced in high volume in the US and all over the world. They are capable of leaching out of plastics and entering the food chain. They produce a variety of effects on the body, but not all effects are understood. Epidemiological evidence indicates that there is a marked increase in the incidence of hypertension and pre‐hypertension in young children. We hypothesized that exposure to these EDCs during pregnancy can affect brain circuits and cause high blood pressure in offspring. The risk is even greater for female offspring who are subsequently exposed to an environmental estrogen or oral contraceptives in adulthood. To test this, we exposed pregnant Sprague Dawley dams to saline, or 1μg/kg BW of bisphenol‐F (BPF). Two female offspring from each dam were either sham implanted or implanted with estradiol‐17β (E2) pellets that were capable of releasing 20 ng of E2/day for 90 days. Animals were also implanted with a telemeter (Data Sciences International; HD‐S10) in the femoral artery and were allowed to recover. Blood pressure recordings were obtained for once a week for 12 weeks over a 24‐hour time period. In control rats that were treated with E2, there was a modest increase in systolic BP. When prenatal BPF exposure was followed by exposure to E2 in adulthood, it produced a greater increase in systolic BP (p = 0.0031 during the day; p= 0.0081 at night). In contrast, prenatal BPF exposure followed by sham implantation resulted in marked increases in diastolic BP. These results indicate that prenatal exposure to BPF can increase BP in female rats. This risk is augmented when females are subjected to chronic low dose E2 exposure in adulthood. Further studies are needed to understand the underlying mechanisms.Support or Funding InformationSupported by UGA research foundation and start‐up funds.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.