Pubertal development and reproductive functions of Crl:CD BR Sprague-Dawley rats exposed to bisphenol a during prenatal and postnatal development

Bisphenol A (BPA) is used on a large scale in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastics. BPA has been shown to bind weakly to both estrogen receptor (ER)alpha and ER beta, and to transactivate reporter genes in vitro. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether exposure of rats to BPA during pre- and postnatal development affects estrogen-mediated end points related to pubertal development and reproductive functions. BPA was administered to pregnant Crl:CD BR Sprague-Dawley rats by gavage at 0, 3.2, 32, or 320 mg/kg/day from gestation day (GD) 11 through postnatal day (PND) 20. Diethylstilbestrol (DES) at 15 mu g/kg/day was used as a reference chemical with known estrogenic effects. Female pubertal development was not affected by indirect BPA exposure of the offspring at any of the dose levels. Treatment with this chemical also did not produce detectable effects on the volume of the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area (SDN-POA), estrous cyclicity, sexual behavior, or male reproductive organ weights of F-1 offspring. However, DES at 15 mu g/kg/day increased the volume of the SDN-POA of female offspring and affected their normal estrous cyclicity following puberty. In this study, pre- and postnatal exposure of rats to BPA at 3.2, 32, or 320 mg/kg/day from GD 11 through PND 20 did not have any apparent adverse effects on female rat pubertal development and reproductive functions.