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Mammary Gland as a Sensitive Tissue to Developmental Exposures of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) in the Mouse

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Abstract

The persistence in the environment, combined with the ubiquity of ­perfluorinated products in the marketplace, has caused what is now recognized as the widespread contamination of human and wildlife tissues with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). The global presence of PFOA has raised concern about adverse health effects that may result from unavoidable human exposures. In this review, we cover the sources of PFOA, its prevalence, and current knowledge about human PFOA exposures and associated health consequences. Examined in detail are PFOA-induced effects on mammary gland in animals. Studies of other environmental agents indicate that late fetal and early postnatal mammary gland development is particularly sensitive to environmental insult. Early life exposures that alter mammary gland development are thought to have a potential impact on the development of mammary cancers later in life in animal models. This is also thought to be the case in humans. Recent research in the mouse examining the effects of in utero, lactational and peripubertal exposures, impact of genetic background, and putative mechanisms of action has made substantial discoveries regarding the effects of PFOA exposure on the mammary gland with high relevancy to human health.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Centers Grant U01 ES/CA 012800 from the National Institute of Environment Health Science (NIEHS) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services (to S.Z.H.).

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The views expressed in this chapter are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the NIEHS, NCI or the NIH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NIEHS, National Toxicology Program, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA

    Sally S. White

  2. National Toxicology Program, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA

    Suzanne E. Fenton

  3. Department of Biomedical and Integrative Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Chengfeng Yang

  4. Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Chengfeng Yang

  5. Center for Integrative Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Chengfeng Yang

  6. Department of Biomedical and Integrative Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Sandra Z. Haslam

  7. Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Sandra Z. Haslam

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  1. Sally S. White
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  2. Suzanne E. Fenton
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Correspondence to Sandra Z. Haslam .

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  1. Lab. Breast Cancer Research, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Burholme Avenue 7701, Philadelphia, 19111, Pennsylvania, USA

    Jose Russo

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White, S.S., Fenton, S.E., Yang, C., Haslam, S.Z. (2011). Mammary Gland as a Sensitive Tissue to Developmental Exposures of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) in the Mouse. In: Russo, J. (eds) Environment and Breast Cancer. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9896-5_8

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