Exposure to Common Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals May Alter Normal Breast Development
A study in human breast organoids has found that exposure to some common endocrine-disrupting chemicals may lead to molecular changes in breast tissue that could influence susceptibility to breast cancer later in life. The post Exposure to Common Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals May Alter Normal Breast Development appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News .
A recent study from Tufts University School of Medicine and Boston University reveals that exposure to common chemicals, particularly multiple bisphenols simultaneously, may alter the development of normal human breast tissue. The researchers created 3D human breast organoids from tissue donated by 13 healthy young women and exposed them to individual chemicals and chemical mixtures.
While individual chemicals had minimal effect, a low-dose mixture of three common bisphenols (BPA, BPS, and BPF) disrupted normal breast development in most organoids. This mixture caused molecular changes, including extracellular matrix remodeling, epithelial plasticity, and partial epithelial-mesenchymal transition, along with widespread DNA methylation remodeling.
The researchers compared these changes to data from human breast cancers and found that the exposure-associated pattern was most strongly represented in patients with invasive lobular carcinoma. While this study does not establish causation, it demonstrates a new method to investigate how environmental exposures may affect normal human tissue before cancer develops.
If validated in future studies, these findings could lead to biomarkers for assessing breast cancer risk.
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