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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Questions have swirled around whether or not a substance that makes up some plastics could be to blame for certain cancers and other endocrine related disorders. The controversy continues in a new study. In the new report, researchers from Indiana University in Bloomington and the University of California at Berkeley say bisphenol A stimulates breast tumor growth.
Bisphenol A is a chemical building block used in the manufacturing of polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. This means it can be found in CDs and DVDs, reusable food containers, sport safety equipment, and paint, among many other products used daily. A study by the CDC detected trace amounts of BPA in 95 percent of urine samples collected from American adults.
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Supporters of BPA claim once in the body, the substance becomes harmless. Some researchers, though, question this and report more research is needed.
Therefore, Theodore Widlanski, Ph.D., and colleagues looked at whether BPA is absorbed by breast tumor cells, even when modified by the addition of sulfate.
Dr. Widlanski found enzymes that exist on the surface of breast cancer cells convert what was thought to be a safe form of the BPA, the sulfated form, back into the unsafe form.
He explains that breast cancer cells, unlike normal cells, overproduce the enzyme aryl sulfatase C. This enzyme removes sulfate from estrogen and allows it to be absorbed into cells. The same thing seems to happen to BPA. It becomes non-sulfated and can be absorbed by cells.
The research showed the concentration of non-sulfated BPA goes up in breast cancer cells even when the cells are grown in sulfated BPA. Widlanski reports, "That human enzymes are capable of the sulfation and desulfation of BPA suggests breast cancer cells are a lightning rod not only for natural estrogen, but for BPA too."
Widlanski is quick to warn people against panicking about this information. He reports, "We have only demonstrated a possible mechanism that explains what people have been speculating about for years." He says if, for example, bottled water is deemed unsafe in the future this information may help explain why. This study was done in the lab and not in humans.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Chemistry and Biology, 2006;13:891-897
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