Bisphenol A alters the development of the rhesus monkey mammary gland

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2012-05, Vol.109 (21), p.8190-8195
• Main Authors: Tharp, Andrew P, Maffini, Maricel V, Hunt, Patricia A, VandeVoort, Catherine A, Sonnenschein, Carlos, Soto, Ana M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: abnormalities; adulthood; Air Pollutants, Occupational; Air Pollutants, Occupational - blood; Air Pollutants, Occupational - toxicity; Animals; Benzhydryl Compounds; Biological Sciences; bisphenol A; Bisphenols; blood; body weight; Business publications audits; Chemical hazards; chemically induced; Dosage; drug effects; Endocrine Disruptors; Endocrine Disruptors - toxicity; Epithelium; Epithelium - drug effects; Epithelium - pathology; Estrogen Receptor alpha; Estrogen Receptor alpha - metabolism; Estrogen Receptor beta; Estrogen Receptor beta - metabolism; Exocrine glands; exposure duration; Female; Female animals; food packaging; humans; Macaca mulatta; mammary development; Mammary glands; Mammary Glands, Animal; Mammary Glands, Animal - abnormalities; Mammary Glands, Animal - drug effects; Mammary Glands, Animal - metabolism; manufacturing; metabolism; Monkeys; Monkeys & apes; Morphology; Ovary; Ovary - abnormalities; Ovary - drug effects; parturition; pathology; Phenols; Phenols - blood; Phenols - toxicity; plastics; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects - chemically induced; Primates; progeny; Reproduction; Resins; Rodents; T cell receptors; toxicity
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1120488109

The xenoestrogen bisphenol A (BPA) used in the manufacturing of various plastics and resins for food packaging and consumer products has been shown to produce numerous endocrine and developmental effects in rodents. Exposure to low doses of BPA during fetal mammary gland development resulted in significant alterations in the gland’s morphology that varied from subtle ones observed during the exposure period to precancerous and cancerous lesions manifested in adulthood. This study assessed the effects of BPA on fetal mammary gland development in nonhuman primates. Pregnant rhesus monkeys were fed 400 μg of BPA per kg of body weight daily from gestational day 100 to term, which resulted in 0.68 ± 0.312 ng of unconjugated BPA per mL of maternal serum, a level comparable to that found in humans. At birth, the mammary glands of female offspring were removed for morphological analysis. Morphological parameters similar to those shown to be affected in rodents exposed prenatally to BPA were measured in whole-mounted glands; estrogen receptor (ER) α and β expression were assessed in paraffin sections. Student's t tests for equality of means were used to assess differences between exposed and unexposed groups. The density of mammary buds was significantly increased in BPA-exposed monkeys, and the overall development of their mammary gland was more advanced compared with unexposed monkeys. No significant differences were observed in ER expression. Altogether, gestational exposure to the estrogen-mimic BPA altered the developing mammary glands of female nonhuman primates in a comparable manner to that observed in rodents.