Sex Specific Placental Accumulation and Behavioral Effects of Developmental Firemaster 550 Exposure in Wistar Rats.
Abstract
Firemaster® 550 (FM 550) is a commercial flame retardant mixture of brominated and
organophosphate compounds applied to polyurethane foam used in furniture and baby
products. Due to widespread human exposure, and structural similarities with known
endocrine disruptors, concerns have been raised regarding possible toxicity. We previously
reported evidence of sex specific behavioral effects in rats resulting from developmental
exposure. The present study expands upon this prior finding by testing for a greater
range of behavioral effects, and measuring the accumulation of FM 550 compounds in
placental tissue. Wistar rat dams were orally exposed to FM 550 during gestation (0,
300 or 1000 µg/day; GD 9 - 18) for placental measurements or perinatally (0, 100,
300 or 1000 µg/day; GD 9 - PND 21) to assess activity and anxiety-like behaviors.
Placental accumulation was dose dependent, and in some cases sex specific, with the
brominated components reaching the highest levels. Behavioral changes were predominantly
associated with a loss or reversal of sex differences in activity and anxiety-like
behaviors. These findings demonstrate that environmental chemicals may sex-dependently
accumulate in the placenta. That sex-biased exposure might translate to sex-specific
adverse outcomes such as behavioral deficits is a possibility that merits further
investigation.
Type
Journal articlePermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15445Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1038/s41598-017-07216-6Publication Info
Baldwin, Kylie R; Phillips, Allison L; Horman, Brian; Arambula, Sheryl E; Rebuli,
Meghan E; Stapleton, Heather M; & Patisaul, Heather B (2017). Sex Specific Placental Accumulation and Behavioral Effects of Developmental Firemaster
550 Exposure in Wistar Rats. Sci Rep, 7(1). pp. 7118. 10.1038/s41598-017-07216-6. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15445.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Heather M. Stapleton
Ronie-Richele Garcia-Johnson Distinguished Professor
Professor Heather Stapleton is an environmental chemist and exposure scientist in
the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. Her research interests
focus on identification of halogenated and organophosphate chemicals in building materials,
furnishings and consumer products, and estimation of human exposure, particularly
in vulnerable populations such as pregnant women and children. Her laboratory utilizes
mass spectrometry, including targeted and nontargeted a

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