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STUNTED MOUSE MAMMARY GLAND DEVELOPMENT, IN THE ABSENCE OF BODY WEIGHT EFFECTS, FOLLOWING PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO PFOA
Citation:
WHITE, S. S., J. RAYNER, E. P. HINES, J. R. THIBODEAUX, AND S. E. FENTON. STUNTED MOUSE MAMMARY GLAND DEVELOPMENT, IN THE ABSENCE OF BODY WEIGHT EFFECTS, FOLLOWING PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO PFOA. Presented at Society for the Study of Reproduction, Quebec, QC, CANADA, July 24 - 27, 2005.
Description:
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a synthetic compound resistant to severe weather and heat, is ubiquitous in the environment and is detected in serum of the human population and several wildlife species. Previous studies (Lau et al., 2004) have demonstrated that prenatal exposure to PFOA leads to increased postnatal pup mortality and decreased pup weights, in a dose responsive manner. Due to the possibility that these effects were linked to impaired lactation, time pregnant CD-1 mice (N=8-12 dams/dose group) were exposed to 5 mg/kg PFOA (a dose previously shown to have little effect on postnatal pup mortality) from gestation days (GD) 2-18, 9-18, 13-18, or not at all. Our goal was to determine if there was an exposure parameter that was necessary for the effects on decreased pup weight gain. There was no effect of exposure on live pups born per dam. Litter weights were similar between exposed and control groups at birth (postnatal day 1; PND 1) and no gestational exposure led to decreased maternal weight gain. However, by PND 5there was a significant decrease in weight of the GD 2-18 litters compared to the other dose groups (reduced by 44% from controls, p<0.0001). The litters exposed GD 2-18 continued to be smaller than litters in all other groups on PND 10 and 20 (reduced by 43 and 48%vs. controls), whereas the other dose groups were decreased by a maximum of 12% (p>0.05) compared to controls. Mammary glands were removed from female pups at necropsy on PND 10 and 20. Interestingly, all exposed litters at both ages displayed stunted mammary epithelial branching and growth compared to controls (p<0.001). Glands were scored (by 2 scorers) for development on a 4 point scale. While control liters (PND 10 and 20) had an average score of 3.1 and 3.3 respectively, all treated litters had a score of 1.7 or less. In fact, there was no progression of growth in treated litters over time.These findings lead us to believe that even short prenatal exposures may lead to detrimental effects of PFOA on offspring mammary gland development in the absence of effects on their weight gain. (This abstract does not necessarily reflect EPA policy.)