Unconjugated bisphenol A cord blood levels in boys with descended or undescended testes

Human toxicity of bisphenol A (BPA), a weak estrogenic environmental endocrine disrupting compound, widely used in plastics, baby bottles, cans and dental sealants, is under investigation. Fetal or perinatal exposure in rodents is associated with programmed adult reproductive diseases. Human epidemi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human reproduction (Oxford) 2012-04, Vol.27 (4), p.983-990
Main Authors: Fénichel, P., Déchaux, H., Harthe, C., Gal, J., Ferrari, P., Pacini, P., Wagner-Mahler, K., Pugeat, M., Brucker-Davis, F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Boron Compounds - blood
Boron Compounds - toxicity
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
Cryptorchidism - blood
Endocrine Disruptors - blood
Endocrine Disruptors - toxicity
Environmental Exposure - analysis
Female
Fetal Blood - metabolism
Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Male
Mass Spectrometry
Medical sciences
Milk, Human - chemistry
Phenylalanine - analogs & derivatives
Phenylalanine - blood
Phenylalanine - toxicity
Pregnancy
Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
Testosterone - blood
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Summary:Human toxicity of bisphenol A (BPA), a weak estrogenic environmental endocrine disrupting compound, widely used in plastics, baby bottles, cans and dental sealants, is under investigation. Fetal or perinatal exposure in rodents is associated with programmed adult reproductive diseases. Human epidemiological studies remain scarce, especially concerning testicular development. We have investigated the relationship between fetal exposure to BPA and cryptorchidism. METHODS Using a radioimmunoassay performed after extraction, validated by high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, active levels of unconjugated BPA (uBPA) in cord blood (CB) were measured in 152 boys born after 34 weeks gestation, with cryptorchid or descended testes. RESULTS Active uBPA was detectable in all CB samples, with values in the control group (n = 106) of 0.14–4.76 ng/ml, median: 0.9 ng/ml; mean ± SD: 1.12 ng/ml ± 0.86 ng/ml, which did not differ from cryptorchid boys (n = 46, 1.26 ± 1.13 ng/ml, P = 0.38). uBPA in controls correlated with CB inhibin B (P < 0.01) and total testosterone (P < 0.05), and with maternal milk polychlorinated bisphenyl 138 (P < 0.03). uBPA did not correlate with clinical maternal or fetal parameters or with other steroid or polypeptide CB hormones assessed. CONCLUSIONS The presence of uBPA in all CB samples suggests placental transfer and fetal exposure. Similar uBPA levels in the control and cryptorchid groups make the participation of fetal exposure to uBPA in the physiopathology of undescended testes unlikely. However, the observed nanomolar uBPA concentrations support assessment of epidemiological relationships between CB uBPA and other human diseases.
ISSN:0268-1161
1460-2350
DOI:10.1093/humrep/der451