{"id":240797,"date":"2012-02-17T13:06:45","date_gmt":"2012-02-17T13:06:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.eugenesis.com\/flame-retardant-linked-to-behavioral-other-deficits\/"},"modified":"2012-02-17T13:06:45","modified_gmt":"2012-02-17T13:06:45","slug":"flame-retardant-linked-to-behavioral-other-deficits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/behavioral-science\/flame-retardant-linked-to-behavioral-other-deficits.php","title":{"rendered":"Flame retardant linked to behavioral, other deficits"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>SACRAMENTO \u2014 Mice genetically engineered to be susceptible to  autism-like behaviors that were exposed to a common flame  retardant were less fertile and their offspring were smaller,  less sociable and demonstrated marked deficits in learning and  long-term memory when compared with the offspring of normal  unexposed mice, a study by researchers at UC Davis has found. The  researchers said the study is the first to link genetics and  epigenetics with exposure to a flame retardant chemical.  <\/p>\n<p>    The research was published online today (Feb. 16) in the    journal Human Molecular Genetics. It will be presented during a    symposium on Saturday (Feb. 18) at the annual meeting of the    American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) by    Janine LaSalle, a professor in the Department of Medical    Microbiology and Immunology in the UC Davis School of Medicine    and the UC Davis Genome Center. (LaSalle will discuss her    research during a news briefing with her colleagues at 9 a.m.    Sunday (Feb. 19) in room 221 on the second level of the    Vancouver Convention Center).  <\/p>\n<p>    \"This study highlights the interaction between epigenetics and    the effects of early exposure to flame retardants,\" said    LaSalle, the study&#039;s senior author and a researcher affiliated    with the UC Davis MIND Institute. \"Our experiments with    wild-type and mutant mice indicate that exposure to flame    retardants presents an independent risk of neurodevelopmental    deficits associated with reduced sociability and learning.\"  <\/p>\n<p>    Epigenetics describes the heritable changes in gene expression    caused by mechanisms other than those in the DNA sequence. One    such mechanism is DNA methylation, in which genes are silenced    when their activation no longer is required. DNA methylation is    essential for normal development. The researchers chose a mouse    that was genetically and epigenetically susceptible to social    behavioral deficits in order to understand the potential effect    of this environmental pollutant on genetically susceptible    humans.  <\/p>\n<p>    LaSalle and her colleagues examined the effects of the chemical    BDE-47 (Tetrabromodiphenl ether), a member of the class of    flame retardants called polybrominated diphenylethers, or    PBDEs. PBDEs have been used in a wide range of products,    including electronics, bedding, carpeting and furniture. They    have been shown to persist in the environment and accumulate in    living organisms, and toxicological testing has found that they    may cause liver toxicity, thyroid toxicity and    neurodevelopmental toxicity, according to U.S. Environmental    Protection Agency. BDE-47 is the PBDE found at highest    concentrations in human blood and breast milk, raising concerns    about its potential neurotoxic effects during pregnancy and    neonatal development.  <\/p>\n<p>    The research was conducted in the offspring of mice genetically    engineered for the autism phenotype found in Rett syndrome, a    disorder that occurs primarily in females and causes regression    in expressive language, motor skills and social reciprocity in    late infancy. The condition affects about 1 in 10,000 children.  <\/p>\n<p>    Autism spectrum disorders are a group of neurodevelopmental    disabilities that can cause significant social, communication    and behavioral deficits. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control    and Prevention estimates that an average of 1 in 110 children    born in the United States today will be diagnosed with an    autism spectrum disorder.  <\/p>\n<p>    Rett syndrome is causally linked to defects in the    methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 gene MECP2 situated on the X    chromosome. Mutations in MECP2 result in a nonfunctional MeCP2    protein, which is required for normal brain development. The    researchers evaluated the effects of exposure to BDE-47 on mice    genetically engineered to have mutations in MECP2 and their    offspring, or pups. The genetically engineered Mecp2 mother    mice, or dams, were bred with non-mutant wild-type males. The    dams were monitored for 10 weeks \u2014 for four weeks prior to    conception, three weeks during gestation and three weeks of    lactation. They were then compared with a control group of    normal, unexposed dams and pups over several generations and    hundreds of mice.  <\/p>\n<p>    The study found that that the weights of the pups of the    lactating BDE-47-exposed dams were diminished when compared    with the controls, as were their survival rates. To assess the    effects of the flame retardant exposure on the pups and their    genotypes, the researchers placed them through more than 10    cognitive, social and physical tests.  <\/p>\n<p>    Female offspring of dams exposed with BDE-47 spent half as much    time interacting with another mouse in a 10-minute sociability    test compared to controls. The reduced sociability in BDE-47    exposed females corresponded to reduced DNA methylation in    females regardless of genotype. In addition, genetic and    environmental interaction effects in this study were    specifically observed in females.  <\/p>\n<p>    In a short-term memory test of social novelty, although all    mice showed the expected preference for interacting with a    novel over a familiar mouse, BDE-47-exposed mutant female mice    spent about half as much time interacting with the familiar    mouse than their non-mutant littermates. In a long-term memory    test of swimming to reach a hidden platform in a cloudy pool,    female mice who were both mutant and BDE-47 exposed did not    learn to reach the platform faster after fourdays of training.    These behavioral changes in social and cognitive learning    specifically in the interaction group corresponded to changes    in a known epigenetic regulator of DNA methylation in brain,    DNA methyltransferase 3a (Dnmt3a).  <\/p>\n<p>    LaSalle said that the study results are important because    better understanding of the epigenetic pathways implicated in    social behavior and cognition may lead to improved treatments    for autism spectrum disorders.  <\/p>\n<p>    \"While the obvious preventative step is to limit the use and    accumulation of PBDEs in our environment, this would likely be    a long-term solution,\" LaSalle said. \"These pollutants are    going to be hard to get rid of tomorrow. However, one important    preventative that all women could do tomorrow is to start    taking prenatal vitamins before becoming pregnant, as these may    counteract the toxins in our environment through DNA    methylation,\" she said.  <\/p>\n<p>    A study by researchers at UC Davis conducted in 2011 found that    women who reported not taking a daily prenatal vitamin    immediately before and during the first month of pregnancy were    nearly twice as likely to have a child with an autism spectrum    disorder as women who did take the supplements \u2014 and the    associated risk rose to seven times as great when combined with    a high-risk genetic make-up.  <\/p>\n<p>    Other authors of the research are Rima Woods, Roxanne O.    Vallero, Mari Golub, Joanne K. Suarez, Tram Anh Ta, Dag H.    Yasui, Lai-Har Chi, Isaac N. Pessah and Robert F. Berman, all    of UC Davis, and Paul J. Kostyniak of the Toxicology Research    Center, University at Buffalo, the State University of New    York.  <\/p>\n<p>    The research was funded by grants from the National Institutes    of Health and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the    National Institutes of Environmental Health    Sciences\/Environmental Protection Agency Center for Children&#039;s    Environmental Health, and the U.S. Environmental Protection    Agency Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program.  <\/p>\n<p>    At the UC Davis MIND    Institute, world-renowned scientists engage in    research to find improved treatments as well as the causes and    cures for autism, attention-deficit\/hyperactivity disorder,    fragile X syndrome, Tourette syndrome and other    neurodevelopmental disorders. Advances in neuroscience,    molecular biology, genetics, pharmacology and b<br \/>\nehavioral    sciences are making inroads into a better understanding of    brain function. The UC Davis MIND Institute draws from these    and other disciplines to conduct collaborative,    multidisciplinary research. For more information, visit    mindinstitute.ucdavis.edu.  <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Continued here:<br \/>\n<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.universityofcalifornia.edu\/news\/article\/27155\" title=\"Flame retardant linked to behavioral, other deficits\">Flame retardant linked to behavioral, other deficits<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SACRAMENTO \u2014 Mice genetically engineered to be susceptible to autism-like behaviors that were exposed to a common flame retardant were less fertile and their offspring were smaller, less sociable and demonstrated marked deficits in learning and long-term memory when compared with the offspring of normal unexposed mice, a study by researchers at UC Davis has found.  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/behavioral-science\/flame-retardant-linked-to-behavioral-other-deficits.php\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"limit_modified_date":"","last_modified_date":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[577410],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-240797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-behavioral-science"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240797"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240797\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}