Whole brains and frontal lobes of rat offsprings exposed perinatally to low doses of 2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether

Analysis of developmental toxicity of environmental toxin 2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47) at the level of gene expression. Dams of Wistar rats were exposed to environmentaly relevant doses of BDE-47 at gestation and lactation. Gene expression in total brains and frontal lobes was analysed in offspring on postnatal day 10. Dams were randomly distributed among three groups (3 dams per group) and exposed by caudal injection (0.3 ml/kg body weight) on GD 15, PND 1 and PND 5. Dams of the control group received vehicle: ethanol 95%, Cremophor EL, and sterile water (1:1:8, v/v); dams of exposed group 1 received 0.002 mg/kg body weight (BW) of BDE-47 in vehicle, and dams of exposed group 2 received 0.2 mg/kg body weight (BW) of BDE-47 in vehicle. One female pup per litter was selected randomly and sacrificed by decapitation on PND 10. Total RNA was extracted from total brain and frontal lobe samples of these pups and used for microarray analysis.