Bisphenol A, an endocrine-disrupting chemical, and brain development

Abstract

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine-disrupting chemical, widely used in various industries and the field of dentistry. The consequent increase in BPA exposure among humans has led us to some concerns regarding the potential deleterious effects on reproduction and brain development. The emphasis of this review is on the effects of prenatal and lactational exposure to low doses of BPA on brain development in mice. We demonstrated that prenatal exposure to BPA affected fetal murine neocortical development by accelerating neuronal differentiation/migration during the early embryonic stage, which was associated with up- and down-regulation of the genes critical for brain development, including the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors. In the adult mice brains, both abnormal neocortical architecture and abnormal corticothalamic projections persisted in the group exposed to the BPA. Functionally, BPA exposure disturbed murine behavior, accompanied with a disrupted neurotransmitter system, including monoamines, in the postnatal development period and in adult mice. We also demonstrated that epigenetic alterations in promoter-associated CpG islands might underlie some of the effects on brain development after exposure to BPA.