Bisphenol A (BPA), a xenoestrogen, has been reported to mimic the actions of estrogen or to affect the endocrine glands in vivo and in vitro. In this study, we examined whether in utero and lactational exposure to BPA altered the somatic growth and anogenital distance (AGD) of F 1 offspring (1, 3, and 9 weeks of age) in vivo in rats. Dams were orally administered with various doses of BPA (0, 4, or 40 mg/kg body weight (BW)/day) from gestation day (GD) 6 through postnatal day (PND) 20. There were no significant changes in body weight, liver weight, kidneys weight, testes weight, AGD, the ratio of AGD to BW, or the ratio of AGD to the cube root of BW in BPA exposed pups compared to the vehicle-exposed control. This suggests that prenatal and postnatal exposure (indirect exposure) to BPA (4-40 mg/kg/day, GD 6-PND 20) does not affect on somatic growth or AGD of F 1 generation of male and female rats.

The potential for health effects on humans with exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) has raised concerns, and the adverse effects of low-dose exposure to BPA on reproduction have been controversial. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of low-dose exposure to BPA on reproductive development in F(1) rat offspring. Pregnant female Sprague-Dawley rats (F(0)) were fed a diet containing low doses of BPA (0, 0.33, 3.3, or 33 ppm) from gestational day (GD) 6 through postnatal day (PND) 21. The weanlings (F(1)) from all dose groups were fed a normal diet ad libitum after weaning and then were subjected to necropsy at 5 weeks or 3 months of age. No BPA-related changes were observed in body weight or weight of any of the major reproductive organs in F(1) males and females. Epididymis weight was significantly lower only in 3-month-old F(1) males exposed to 33 ppm BPA. Anogenital distance (AGD), the ratio of AGD to the cube root of body weight, and relative ovary weight were significantly lower in 5-week-old F(1) females exposed to 3.3 and 33 ppm BPA, but significant differences were not observed in 3-month-old females. There were no BPA-related effects on cauda epididymal sperm motility in 3-month-old F(1) males. Plasma reproductive steroid hormone concentrations were not altered among groups in either sex. These outcomes indicate that low-dose exposure to BPA in the diet does not adversely affect reproductive development in F(1) rat offspring.

Intratracheal instillation is widely used for respiratory toxicity tests in experimental animals. However, there are wide variations in the techniques used for instillation, and it is thus difficult to compare the results obtained using different techniques. To examine the effect of instillation methods, we compared the distribution of a test substance in the lungs of rats after intratracheal instillations under various conditions. Rats received an intratracheal instillation of 0.3 mL of india ink suspension under different conditions as follows: 3 different angles of body restraint, 0° (supine horizontal), 45° (supine head up) and 90° (vertical head up); 2 instillation speeds, high (40 mL/min) and low (4 mL/min); and 2 different devices, a standard bulb-tipped gavage needle and an aerosolizing microsprayer designed for intratracheal instillation. One hour after treatment under these various conditions, rats were sacrificed, and the local distribution of the suspension in the lungs was observed. No animal restrained in the supine head-up or vertical head-up position died from the treatment; however, fatalities were observed when rats were restrained in the supine horizontal position except under high-speed dosing conditions with a microsprayer. Better distribution of the suspension in the lungs was observed in the rats restrained in the supine head-up position after instillation at high speed when compared with other conditions. These results indicated that high-speed instillation to the subject restrained in the supine head-up position is an appropriate condition for performing intratracheal instillation.

The present study was conducted to examine the effects of low-dose exposure to bisphenol A on reproduction and development in two generations of mice. Pregnant female C57BL/6J mice (F0) were fed a diet containing low doses of bisphenol A (0, 0.33, 3.3, or 33 ppm) from gestational day 6 through postnatal day 22, and the weanlings (F1 and F2) from each F0 and F1 dam group, respectively, were also fed these same concentrations of bisphenol A ad libitum until sacrifice. There were no treatment-related changes in body weight, body weight gain, food consumption, gestation length, or the number of live births on postnatal day 1 in F0 dams between the control group and bisphenol A groups. Sex ratio and viability were similar in all F1 pups. No treatment-related changes were observed in body weight, food consumption, developmental parameters, anogenital distance, or weight of any of the organs (liver, kidney, heart, spleen, thymus, testis, ovary, or uterus) in F1 and F2 adults in either sex. The epididymis weight was slightly higher with 0.33 and 3.3 ppm in F1 males, but this slight increase was neither dose dependent nor seen across generations. There were no treatment-related effects of bisphenol A on cauda epididymal sperm count or sperm motility in F1 or F2 males. These findings indicate that dietary exposure to bisphenol A between 0.33 and 33 ppm does not adversely affect reproduction or development as assessed in two generations of mice.

Pregnant Sprague-Dawley (CD IGS) rats were orally administered doses of bisphenol A (BPA) at 4, 40, and 400 mg/kg, from gestation days 6 to postnatal day 20. Neurotransmitters such as dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5HT) were extracted from the brains of dams and female offspring, and measured using liquid chromatography. BPA at 400 mg/kg was toxic and dosed rats died. At 3 wk after birth, brain levels of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC, a DA metabolite), homovanillic acid (HVA, a DA metabolite), 5HT, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5HIAA, a 5HT metabolite) in female offspring were increased and the HVA/DA ratio was high in some brain areas of BPA-treated groups as compared with controls. At the age of 6 wk, levels of choline (Ch) in BPAtreated groups at 4 and 40 mg/kg were higher than control in all of eight brain areas. No changes were observed in acetylcholine (ACh) contents. In 9-wk-old offspring, changes in monoamines and metabolites were scattered and not great. At 3 wk after delivery, levels of 5HIAA in some brain areas of dams treated with BPA were higher than in control dams. Dose dependent increases in HVA and the HVA/DA ratio of the occipital cortex, and in the HVA/DA ratio of the frontal cortex were observed. The turnover of DA and 5HT was accelerated in 3-wk-old offspring and dams. BPA possesses very weak estrogenic activity. Changes in cerebral neurotransmitters observed in offspring and dams in this study may have been related to the estrogenic activity of BPA. However, further investigation is needed to examine the contribution of hormonal activity to such neurotransmitter changes.

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The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) is a set of recommendations by the United Nations, first issued in 2003 as a communication tool for the sound management of chemicals, comprising harmonized classification criteria for physical, health and environmental hazards, a unified format for material safety data sheets (MSDS), and labeling elements including pictograms and hazard statements preassigned to each classification category. The GHS has been introduced into Japan and implemented in the regulatory framework for chemical safety. The Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) adopted the GHS, and the GHS-based JIS rules have become the Japanese standards for labels and MSDS. The use of the JIS format for labels and MSDS is recommended by several competent authorities in Japan although mostly on a voluntary basis. In the workplace, however, GHS-based JIS labels and MSDS have become legal requirements by the Industrial Safety and Health Law since 2006; namely, issuing MSDS in such a format is mandatory for the 640 specified chemicals and also labeling for the 99 targeted chemicals*. Although the GHS provides definitions and classification criteria for 10 classes of health hazards (acute toxicity, skin and eye corrosion/irritation, sensitization, germ cell mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, reproductive toxicity, specific target organ toxicity single/repeated exposures, and aspiration hazard), it does not provide actual classification of chemicals, so that competent authorities and industries need to classify a number of chemicals and/or mixtures. Weight-of-evidence judgment and/or expert judgment would be necessary in many cases. In this paper, the outline of the GHS classification is described and problems of the GHS and its implementation are discussed.

Exposure to polychlorobiphenyl (PCB) mix-tures at an early stage of development has been reported to affect endocrine glands; however, little is known about the precise toxicological properties of individual PCB. The present study was undertaken to determine whether prenatal exposure to 2,2Ј,4,4Ј,5,5Ј-hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB 153), a di-ortho-substituted non-coplanar congener, affects postnatal development in rat offspring. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats (Crj: CD (SD) IGS) were given PCB 153 (0, 16, or 64 mg/kg/ day) orally from gestational day (GD) 10 through GD 16, and developmental parameters in the male and female offspring were examined. We found no dose-dependent changes in body weight, body length (nose-anus length), tail length, or the weights of kidneys, testes, ovaries and uterus in offspring at 1 or 3 weeks of age. Liver weights were increased in the PCB 153-treated groups, although we observed a significant difference only in males. Anogenital distance was unaffected in the PCB 153-treated groups. We observed a significant dosedependent decrease in the plasma concentrations of thyroxine and tri-iodothyronine, whereas those of thyroid-stimulating hormone were not significantly changed. In addition, there were no dose-dependent changes in plasma concentrations of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-I in any dose group. These findings suggest that prenatal exposure to PCB 153 (GD 10-16, 16-64 mg/kg/day) may alter the thyroid status in rat offspring to some extent without affecting somatic growth or its related hormonal parameters.