Effects of bisphenol A administration to pregnant mice on serum Ca and intestinal Ca absorption

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a xenoestrogen commonly used in food storage plastics. The present study was conducted to clarify the effects of BPA administration to pregnant mice on serum calcium (Ca) and Ca metabolism of the gut and kidney. From 6.5 to 16.5 days post coitus (dpc), pregnant mice were administered at 2 mg or 20 mg/kg body weight/day of BPA. Serum Ca was decreased in mice treated with 20 mg BPA at 17.5 dpc, but no remarkable differences were detected in the alkaline phosphatase activity and vitamin D receptor protein expression in the duodenum and jejunum. The messenger RNA (mRNA) expressions of calcium binding protein (CaBP-9k) and active vitamin D synthesis enzyme (CYP27B1) in the kidney were increased in mice treated with 20 mg BPA. The mRNA expressions of occludin and junction adherence molecular A (JAM-A) in the duodenum and ileum, which regulate paracellular transport, were increased in mice treated with 20 mg BPA. However, the administration of 2 mg BPA had no effect on serum Ca and mRNA expressions of relative genes in Ca metabolism. These results imply that BPA administration at 20 mg/kg body weight/day during pregnancy decreases serum Ca in pre-delivery mice, which may be partly due to decreased paracellular Ca absorption.