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Horm Metab Res 2018; 50(06): 491-503
DOI: 10.1055/a-0628-6708
Endocrine Research
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of Bisphenol A (BPA) Exposure During Breastfeeding on the Biochemical and Endocrine Profiles in Rats

Ana P. Santos-Silva
1   Laboratory of Endocrine Physiology, Department of Physiological Sciences, Roberto Alcantara Gomes Biology Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
,
Egberto Gaspar de Moura
1   Laboratory of Endocrine Physiology, Department of Physiological Sciences, Roberto Alcantara Gomes Biology Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
,
Cintia R. Pinheiro
1   Laboratory of Endocrine Physiology, Department of Physiological Sciences, Roberto Alcantara Gomes Biology Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
,
Elaine Oliveira
1   Laboratory of Endocrine Physiology, Department of Physiological Sciences, Roberto Alcantara Gomes Biology Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
,
Patricia Cristina Lisboa
1   Laboratory of Endocrine Physiology, Department of Physiological Sciences, Roberto Alcantara Gomes Biology Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

received 04 February 2018

accepted 26 April 2018

Publication Date:
08 June 2018 (online)

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Abstract

Neonates can be exposed to bisphenol A (BPA) through placenta and milk, and BPA is associated with disorders such as precocious puberty and obesity. We evaluated the effects of BPA exposure during breastfeeding on the biochemical and endocrine profiles in young and adult rat progeny. From postnatal day (PND) 3 to 15 dams were divided into low-dose BPA treatment [50 μg/kg/day s.c. (BPA-LD)], high-dose BPA treatment [5 mg/kg/day s.c. (BPA-HD)], and Control (vehicle) groups. Milk was collected at PND15 and 21, which represents the end of exposure and 6 days after withdrawal, respectively. Dams were euthanized at weaning. Offspring of both genders were euthanized at PND15, 21, and 180. Milk estradiol levels were lower in the BPA-HD group than in the control group at PND 15; however, they were higher at PND21. Female rats whose mothers were BPA-exposed showed more significant differences from those in the control group, including better glycemic control and lipid profiles and higher food intake without higher adiposity, in adulthood than in the weaning period, when they presented with higher adiposity and hyperestrogenism. Conversely, male rats showed more abnormalities after BPA exposure compared to control rats, including insulin, leptin, testosterone, and thyroid hormone changes, when young but exhibited fewer alterations in adulthood, with increase only in LDLc in the BPA-HD rats. Taken together, the present findings suggest that exposure to BPA exclusively through milk affects adiposity, metabolism, and/or hormones of offspring in the short and long term, possibly compromising normal development in both sexes.

Key words

bisphenol A - breastfeeding - milk - hormones - adiposity
 

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