Research shows how chemicals in plastic may cause lower IQ levels
Uppsala University
The mechanism could explain why exposure to this chemical during the fetal stage may be connected with a lower IQ at seven years of age -- an association previously seen by the same research group.
The study is published in the scientific journal Environment
International.
"We've previously shown that bisphenol F (BPF for short) may be connected with children's cognitive development. However, with this study, we can now begin to understand which biological mechanisms may explain such a link, which is unique for an epidemiological study."
The speaker is Carl Gustaf Bornehag,
Professor and head of Public Health Sciences at Karlstad University. He is the
project manager of the Swedish Environmental Longitudinal Mother and Child,
Asthma and Allergy (SELMA) study, from which the data were taken.
External
factors can cause changes in gene activity through an "epigenetic"
mechanism. This means that individual genes are modified by means of
"methylation." Increased methylation in a DNA segment makes it more
difficult for the cellular machinery to read that specific part. As a result,
expression of methylated genes is often impaired.
The
scientists measured BPF levels in urine from pregnant women in the first
trimester and subsequently monitored their children after birth. DNA
methylation was measured in the children at age seven, and their cognitive
ability was investigated. Since the fetus comes into contact with the mother's
blood via the placenta, it is also exposed to substances in the mother's body.
The
analyses demonstrated that in fetuses exposed to higher levels of BPF,
methylation increases in a specific part of the GRIN2B gene, which has a key
neurological role. Further, higher methylation was associated with lower IQ in
the children. However, the study also found that there appears to be a sex
difference in these children's susceptibility to BPF. The epigenetic link
between BPF and cognition was observed only in boys.
"The
fact that we've been able to identify DNA methylation as a potential mechanism
behind BPF's effect on IQ adds an important piece of evidence in work to
understand how environmental chemicals affect us on a molecular level,"
says Elin Engdahl, a researcher in environmental toxicology at Uppsala
University and the article's lead author.
In
the research group's previous study, they saw that the 25% of seven-year-olds
who, during week 10 of the pregnancy, were exposed to the highest maternal
levels of bisphenol F had a 2-point decline in full scale IQ compared to the
25% of children exposed to the lowest levels. This is a small difference that
is inconspicuous in an individual child but, on the other hand, becomes clear
on a population level.