Essay Example on BPA is a monomer that was first synthesized by Alexander Dianin

BPA is a monomer that was first synthesized by Alexander Dianin in 1891 through the condensation of acetone with two molecules of phenol Inadera 2015 Rubin 2010 In its physical state normal temperature and pressure it is a white solid flakes or powder with a solubility of 300 mg L of water European Commission 2010 BPA is produced in enormous quantities worldwide because it serves as the building block in the production of synthetic polymers such as polycarbonates and epoxy resins as well as non polymer additive to other plastics and over 100 tons are estimated to be released into the atmosphere Vogel 2009 Inadera 2015 BPA derived polymers are used in the production of consumer products including water pipes adhesives flame retardants bottles toys lacquer coatings of metals nipples food containers polyvinyl chloride stretch films building materials dental sealants electronic devices DVD CDs paper coatings and cardboards Erler and Novak 2010 Rochester 2013 Wetherill et al 2007 Michalowicz 2014 Vandenberg et al 2007 Despite its usefulness BPA has been linked to several toxicological effects in man The acute and prolonged effects of BPA is multifaceted including metabolic disorders neurotoxicity hepatoxicity immunotoxicity developmental diseases cancers reproductive abnormalities and impaired cognitive development and function of the nervous system Tilson et al 1990 Michalowicz 2014 Schug et al 2011 Cocco et al 2015 

The concentration of BPA in several aquatic media has been investigated and findings show concentrations as high as 44 65 µg dm3 and 491 54 µg kg in river water and sediments respectively and attributed these occurrences to effluents from BPA related factories Lee et al 2013 Flint et al 2012 A pioneering study by the U S Centre for Disease Control detected urinary BPA in humans that ranged between 0 11 0 51 ng mL in five pools of samples each containing 5 individuals Brock et al 2001 Furthermore a comparative study on the levels of BPA in three tissues reveal that the adipose tissue has the highest concentration mean 3 78 ng g followed by the liver 1 48 ng g and brain 0 91 ng g The authors attributed the highest concentration observed in the adipose tissue to the ability of BPA to bioaccumulate in solid tissues such as the adipose and mammary gland Geens et al 2012 data from another study Fernandez et al 2007 later detected BPA in adult adipose tissue 3 19 µg kg as well In vivo neurological studies in mice have reported anxiolytic like effect and induction of cognitive deficits when exposed to BPA 100 µg kg day Tian et al 2010 impact on social behaviour and anxiety 50 mg kg feed weight Cox et al 2010 perturbation of neurotransmitter system 20 µg kg day Nakamura et al 2010 increased anxiety like behaviour in males 250 ng kg day 

Matsuda et al 2012 increased anxiety in female 10 µg kg day Gioiosa et al 2013 perturbed spatial learning abilities and exploratory behaviours 50 mg kg feed weight Jasarevic et al 2011 changes in the major paracrine mediator in female reproduction nitric oxide 40 µg kg day Martini et al 2010 sex specific epigenetic disruption in the brain 2 µg kg day Kundakovic et al 2013 Cumulatively these studies affirm that very low concentrations of BPA have the potential to initiate long term deleterious effects In a human study 485 adults Yang et al 2009 suggests that BPA exposure would promote oxidative stress and inflammation in post menopausal women Similarly graded doses of BPA 0 2 2 and 20 µg kg body weight per day were reported to have significantly increased the levels of hydrogen peroxide and lipid peroxidation in BPA exposed rats while concurrently decreasing the levels of superoxide dismutase catalase glutathione reductase and glutathione peroxidase key enzymes in the body s defence system Chitra et al 2003 Furthermore BPA s ability to cause cell death and other deleterious effects via induction of oxidative stress is a strong indication it could be linked to Parkinson s disease as oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction are prevalent features of the disease Gandhiand Wood 2005 Perfeito et al 2012 

However detailed study on how BPA exerts its deleterious effects on neuronal morphology and ROS levels and its possible association with the neurone s cytoskeleton remains to be established As reported throughout several studies BPA has deleterious effects on humans and other organisms Majority of these studies have focused on the effect and mechanism of BPA on reproductive systems as well as its recent implication in metabolic disorders cancer and heart disease thus the need to continuously examine its effect especially on neuronal development cannot be overemphasized Nevertheless there is limited information on the neurotoxic effect of BPA to neuronal cell dynamics mediated by neuronal cytoskeletal proteins Using the human neuroblastoma SH SY5Y cell line this study demonstrated the effect of BPA on cell viability morphology neurite outgrowth as well as its potential to induce oxidative stress It is known that neuronal cytoskeletons are vital for maintaining the neurone s shape and organization thus we further investigated the molecular basis of the morphological changes observed when subcytotoxic concentrations of BPA were exposed to the cells by examining the activity of specific cytokeletal proteins tubulins and neurofilament