J. proteome res: Alert! Bisphenol A can activate the immune response of mice and pass it on from generation to generation

February 19, 2020 / BIOON / -- some plastic food and beverage containers still contain bisphenol A (BPA), which can simulate estrogen Although experts say detection of small amounts of BPA in food is unlikely to cause problems, some people are concerned that continued low levels of exposure can have an impact on health, especially in developing fetuses, infants and children Now, in mice, BPA activates an immune response that lasts for at least three generations, researchers report in the Journal of proteome research of the American Chemical Society Photo source: an American Chemical Society epidemiological study has shown that intrauterine BPA exposure is associated with childhood asthma Other studies have shown that treating pregnant mice with the substance can cause asthma like symptoms in their mothers and young mice To better understand how BPA causes allergic asthma, Terumi midoro horiuti, Kangling Zhang and their colleagues analyzed proteins produced in immune cells of pregnant mice treated with BPA and those of the next two generations of mice not exposed to BPA Through mass spectrometry, the researchers compared the proteins produced by some immune cells of BPA exposed mice and their offspring with those of control mice In BPA exposed mice and their offspring, the number of proteins related to the activated innate immune system, which plays a key role in antiviral defense and is also related to allergic diseases, was higher than that in the control group In particular, mice exposed to BPA and their offspring produce twice as much protein called zdhhc1 as other mice In addition, BPA exposure can lead to changes in an enzyme that modifies a DNA binding protein called histone This modification will lead to genetic changes in gene expression As a result, the researchers say, offspring of mice originally exposed to BPA may have inherited changes in DNA expression, leading to abnormal immune system activation, even without BPA Reference: Mark L Sowers et al Bisphenol A activates an internal viral immune response pathway, Journal of proteome research (2019) Doi: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.9b00548