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Acute developmental exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ether 47 (PBDE 47) alters dopamine concentration within the brains of male mice.
Citation:
Gee, J., V. C. MOSER, K. MCDANIEL, AND D. W. HERR. Acute developmental exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ether 47 (PBDE 47) alters dopamine concentration within the brains of male mice. Presented at Neurobehavioral Teratology Society, Monterey, CA, June 30 - July 04, 2008.
Impact/Purpose:
To support criteria of MYP
Description:
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are commonly used as commercial flame retardants in a variety of products including plastics and textiles. Previous studies in our laboratory and in the literature have shown that exposure to a specific PBDE congener, PBDE 47, during a critical period of brain development may lead to developmental delays and hyperactivity in adulthood. To date the underlying causes of these behavioral alterations are unknown, though in vitro studies have linked PBDEs with potential alterations in neurotransmitter levels, particularly dopamine. Alterations in dopamine have also been noted in cases of hyperactivity in rodents and humans. The current study examined dopamine levels in male mice acutely exposed with corn oil vehicle or PBDE 47 (1, 10, or 30 mg/kg) on postnatal day (PND) 10. Animals were sacrificed on PND 15, PND 20, and in adulthood (about 150 days old). The cortex, striatum, and cerebellum were isolated and subjected to HPLC analysis to determine the concentration of dopamine within each region. A statistically significant dose-related increase in dopamine levels was seen within the cortex, regardless of age, but only in the 10 mg/kg PBDE treatment group. Thus, early developmental exposure to PBDE 47 increases the level of cortical dopamine of mice; such a change may correlate with the non-monotonic behavioral observations in littermates. This is an abstract of a proposed presentation and does not reflect US EPA policy.