Prenatal exposure to bisphenol A, genistein and indole-3-carbinol on early mammary gland development and carcinogenesis in female Sprague-Dawley offspring. Rattus norvegicus

Rodent studies have indicated that gestational and perinatal bisphenol A (BPA) exposure increase the risk of developing breast cancer during adulthood. In contrast, some dietary compounds such as genistein (GEN) and indole 3-carbinol (I3C) present potential protective effects against inducing hormone-dependent cancers, including that of the mammary gland. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the role of these dietary compounds on early mammary gland development and carcinogenesis in female Sprague-Dawley offspring. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were treated with BPA at 25 or 250µg/kg b.w./day by gavage from gestational day (GD) 10 to 21 with or without dietary GEN (250 mg/kg chow, ~5.5 mg/kg b.w./day) or I3C (2000 mg/kg chow, ~45.0 mg/kg b.w./day). At post-natal day (PND) 21, some female offspring from different litters were euthanized for mammary gland development and gene expression analyses while other female offspring received a single dose of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) for mammary carcinogenesis initiation. The findings this study indicated the prenatal exposure to BPA, GEN and I3C did not significantly alter ductal elongation, number of terminal end buds (TEB) or cell proliferation, and estrogen receptor alpha (ER-α) immunostaining expression in epithelial mammary cells at PND 21. BPA treatment modulated the expression of several genes, but these changes were not associated with a dose dependent response. Dietary GEN and I3C treatment causally and consistent with the mammary gland structures outcomes. Besides, maternal BPA exposure associated with dietary GEN and I3C did not alter the susceptibility to the mammary cancer development in adulthood when the carcinogen was administered in a window of immature mammary gland development. Overall design: Pregnant Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were treated with BPA at 25 or 250µg/kg b.w./day by gavage from gestational day (GD) 10 to 21 with or without dietary GEN (250 mg/kg chow, ~5.5 mg/kg b.w./day) or I3C (2000 mg/kg chow, ~45.0 mg/kg b.w./day). At post-natal day (PND) 21, some female offspring from different litters were euthanized for mammary gland development and gene expression analyses while other female offspring received a single dose of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) for mammary carcinogenesis initiation.