by Phyllis Brown – UC Davis

The researchers examined the effects of the chemical BDE-47, a member of the class of flame retardants called PBDEs, which have been used in a wide range of products, including electronics, bedding, carpeting, and furniture.

UC DAVIS (US) —Exposure to flame retardant is linked to smaller offspring with social and learning issues, according to a study with mice.

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, the researchers report.

The University of California, Davis researchers say the study, published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics, is the first to link genetics and epigenetics with exposure to a flame retardant chemical.

“This study highlights the interaction between epigenetics and the effects of early exposure to flame retardants,” says Janine LaSalle, the study’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.”

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.

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.

Read more:  http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/flame-retardant-linked-to-autism-risk/