Main Category: Prostate / Prostate Cancer
Also Included In: Public Health; Endocrinology; Stem Cell Research
Article Date: 19 Jun 2013 – 2:00 PDT
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Exposing developing tissue to low levels of the plastic bisphenol A, commonly known as BPA, is linked to a greater incidence of prostate cancer in tissue grown from human prostate stem cells, a new study finds. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
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Society, The Endocrine. “Increased Risk Of Prostate Cancer In Human Stem Cells Following Exposure To Low Doses Of BPA.” Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 19 Jun. 2013. Web.
3 Jul. 2013. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/262136.php>
Investigators were able to observe the effects of BPA on living prostate tissue by isolating prostate stem cells from young men, then combining these cells with undifferentiated cells called mesenchyme, which, for this study, derived from rat tissue. They then grafted this combined tissue to the kidneys of mice where the tissue developed into human prostate tissue. To simulate human BPA exposure, the investigators fed BPA at levels found in humans to the study mice for the first two weeks of the prostate-tissue formation.
- 12 percent of non-BPA exposed tissue
- 33-45 percent of tissue exposed to BPA
“These results suggest that stem cells are direct BPA targets which may explain the long-lasting effects of this chemical throughout the body,” said study lead author Gail S. Prins, Ph.D., professor of physiology and urology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “They provide the first direct in vivo evidence that developmental exposure to environmentally relevant levels of BPA increases human prostate cancer risk.”
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APA
BPA is a synthetic estrogen that is used to add flexibility to many common products, including food cans and containers, compact discs, eyeglasses, and even baby bottles. It is universally prevalent, and tests indicate that almost everyone has measurable levels of the chemical in their bodies.