Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists have discovered that exposure to environmental levels of triclocarban (TCC), an antibacterial chemical common in personal care products like soaps and lotions as well as in the medical field, can transfer from mother to offspring and interfere with lipid metabolism.
Lipid metabolism is the synthesis and degradation of lipids. Therefore, it is the break down, or storage of fats for energy; these fats are obtained from the food we consume, and absorb them, or they are synthesized by the liver.
Lipids are naturally occurring molecules that include fats, waxes, fat-soluble vitamins, monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides and others. The main biological function of lipids is storing energy and signaling, and acting as structural components of cell membranes.
About 80% of all antimicrobial bar soap sold in the United States contains triclocarban.[2] Additionally, the United States spends nearly 1 billion dollars annually on products containing triclocarban and triclosan.[3]
Such findings could have implications for human health. The research was published in the Aug. 9 edition of PLOS ONE.
This study represents the first report to quantify the transfer of an environmentally relevant concentration of TCC from mother to offspring. TCC is among the top 10 most commonly detected wastewater contaminants in concentration and frequency.
"Our results are significant because of the potential risk of exposure to TCC through contaminated water sources and in the living environment, and the potential adverse effects resulting from this exposure during development," said LLNL biologist Heather Enright, the lead author of the paper. "Early life exposure to TCC has the potential to cause irreversible outcomes due to the fragile nature of organ systems and protective mechanisms in developing offspring."
The team studied mice during gestation and lactation to see if, in fact, exposure to TCC would transfer from mother to offspring. Researchers administered TCC laced with carbon-14 to trace how the contaminant distributed in organ systems of female mice and exposed offspring.
Enright and her colleagues quantified TCC concentrations in offspring and their mothers after exposure using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). AMS fills a special niche in the biomedical field because it can measure very low concentrations of compounds with extreme accuracy and track bio-distribution and excretion over long periods of time.
"We demonstrated that TCC does effectively transfer from mother to offspring, both trans-placentally and via lactation," Enright said. "Exposure to TCC during development may pose a serious health risk to the developing embryo and fetus, as they are more sensitive to alterations in hormone levels, which may result in changes that often are irreversible."
TCC-related compounds were detected in the tissues of offspring with significantly higher concentrations in the brain, heart and fat. In addition to the transfer from mother to offspring, exposed offspring were heavier in weight than unexposed mice -- demonstrating an 11 percent and 8.5 percent increase in body weight for females and males, respectively.
Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used in the study to examine changes in gene expression in liver and adipose tissue in the exposed offspring. The results suggested alterations in genes involved in lipid metabolism in exposed female offspring were consistent with the observed increase in fat weights and hepatic triglycerides.
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Materials provided by DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
Orsi Mario; Noro Massimo; Essex Jonathan (2010). "Dual-resolution molecular dynamics simulation of antimicrobials in biomembranes". Journal of The Royal Society Interface. 8 (59): 826–841. PMC 3104353 Freely accessible. PMID 21131331. doi:10.1098/rsif.2010.0541.
. PMID 18795164. doi:10.1289/ehp.11200.
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