ESPE Abstracts

Background: Bisphenol A (BPA), a plastic byproduct, is a known endocrine disruptor and is types of cancers, such as prostate and ovaries, and some other health conditions, for instance diabetes and obesity. It has direct effect on reproductive system through its strong oestrogen agonist activity.

Objective and hypotheses: BPA has a strong oestrogen agonist activity. And oestrogen antagonize cellular activity of growth hormone (GH), however, the effect of BPA on growth hormone has been never investigated. The aim of this research is to study the in vivo effect of chronic BPA administration on body growth and cellular GH signalling.

Method: CD-1 male mice were given 1.75 mM BPA in drinking water for three months starting form weaning age. Every week for three months, the weight, body length and tibia length of each mouse was measured. At end of 3 months, liver tissues were excised and measurement of STAT5, SOCS2 and GHR protein expression was done. Plasma GH and IGF1were measured by commercial ELISA

Results: Mice given BPA for 3 months showed lower rate in total body and tibia length compared to control mice. The phenomenon of catch-up growth was observed. The Inhibitory effect of BPA on GH was also observed in reduced expression of STAT5 protein in mice given BPA. SOCS2 is a known feedback inhibitor of GH signalling. The levels of hepatic SOCS2 protein were higher in mice given BPA. We have not observed significant differences in plasma IGF1 and GH between BPA treated and untreated mice.

Conclusion: We noticed there is an adverse effect of chronic administration of BPA on growth hormone activity. This provides further evidence of the endocrine disruptive effect of BPA and novel inhibitory effect on GH signalling pathway.

Funding: This work was supported by the FURAP of the research council in oman.