Fetal Exposure to Tributyltin Linked to Obesity

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130124163412.htm

Jan. 24, 2013 — Exposing pregnant mice to low doses of the chemical tributyltin (TBT) -- which was used in marine antifouling paints and is used as an antifungal agent in some paints, certain plastics and a variety of consumer products -- can lead to obesity for multiple generations without subsequent exposure, a UC Irvine study has found.

After exposing pregnant mice to TBT at low concentrations, similar to those found in the environment and in humans, researchers observed increased body fat, liver fat and fat-specific gene expression in liver and stem cells in mouse "children," "grandchildren" and "great-grandchildren." The "children" were exposed as embryos, while the "grandchildren" may have been exposed as germ cells within the "children." The "great-grandchildren" had never been exposed to TBT. Such effects without exposure are termed transgenerational and thought to be permanently transmitted to future generations. [It sounds like epigenetic changes, which can be transmitted for generations, but not necessarily permanently.]

These findings demonstrate that early-life exposure to endocrine-disrupting compounds such as TBT can have permanent effects on fat accumulation, gene expression and stem cell programming without further exposure, said study leader Professor Bruce Blumberg with the UC Irvine Departments of Developmental & Cell Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biomedical Engineering.

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