Developmental exposure to a commercial PBDE mixture, DE-71: neurobehavioral, hormonal, and reproductive effects.

Journal Article · Tue Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 2010 · Toxicological Sciences

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfq105· OSTI ID:984395

Kodavanti, Prasada ^[1]; Coburn, Cary ^[1]; Moser, Virginia ^[1]; MacPhail, Robert ^[1]; Fenton, Suzanne ^[2]; Stoker, Tammy ^[1]; Birnbaum, Linda ^[2]

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1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Durham, North Carolina
2. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

Developmental effects of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been suspected due to their structural similarities to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). This study evaluated neurobehavioral, hormonal, and reproductive effects in rat offspring perinatally exposed to a widely used pentabrominated commercial mixture, DE-71. Pregnant Long-Evans rats were exposed to 0, 1.7, 10.2, or 30.6 mg/kg/day DE-71 in corn oil by oral gavage from gestational day 6 to weaning. DE-71 did not alter maternal or male offspring body weights. However, female offspring were smaller compared with controls from postnatal days (PNDs) 35-60. Although several neurobehavioral endpoints were assessed, the only statistically significant behavioral finding was a dose-by-age interaction in the number of rears in an open-field test. Developmental exposure to DE-71 caused severe hypothyroxinemia in the dams and early postnatal offspring. DE-71 also affected anogenital distance and preputial separation in male pups. Body weight gain over time, reproductive tissue weights, and serum testosterone concentrations at PND 60 were not altered. Mammary gland development of female offspring was significantly affected at PND 21. Congener-specific analysis of PBDEs indicated accumulation in all tissues examined. Highest PBDE concentrations were found in fat including milk, whereas blood had the lowest concentrations on a wet weight basis. PBDE concentrations were comparable among various brain regions. Thus, perinatal exposure to DE-71 leads to accumulation of PBDE congeners in various tissues crossing blood-placenta and blood-brain barriers, causing subtle changes in some parameters of neurobehavior and dramatic changes in circulating thyroid hormone levels, as well as changes in both male and female reproductive endpoints. Some of these effects are similar to those seen with PCBs, and the persistence of these changes requires further investigation.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
• Sponsoring Organization: ORNL work for others
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 984395
• Journal Information: Toxicological Sciences, Journal Name: Toxicological Sciences Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 116; ISSN 1096-6080; ISSN 1096-6099
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

13 HYDRO ENERGY
BLOOD
BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER
BRAIN
CORN OIL
DAMS
ETHERS
FATS
FEMALES
MALES
MAMMARY GLANDS
MILK
POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS
PROGENY
TESTOSTERONE
THYROID HORMONES