Papers: shift worker melatonin and BPA islet effects Flashcards
What is Bisphenol A (BPA)?
A chemical produced in large quantities for production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins.
What were the methods in the BPA paper?
They used a control mouse line, lower dose exposed BPA and upper dose exposed BPA, then mated them with unexposed males to create 2 offspring lines.
Physiologically, what did they find in their first experiment in the BPA paper?
- See figure
- Significantly decreased cellular respiration in the upper dose BPA lines
- Significant decrease in beta cell mass in low dose BPA lines
What were the results of investigating the mechanism of reduced beta cell mass in the BPA paper?
- See figure
- Significantly increased caspase 3 activity in the first line of low dose BPA
What is monocyte chemoattractant protein 1?
A chemokine structurally related to cytokines. They regulate cell trafficking, and have a major role in selectively recruit monocytes in response to inflammtion
What were the results of investigating the marker of inflammation, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 in the BPA paper?
- See figure
- Significant increase in the MCP1 in the high dose BPA first line, and in the low dose second line
What were the results of investigating if methylation patterns were altered on beta cell genes in the BPA paper?
- See figure
- Significant increase in methylation of IGF-2 gene in the first and second line low dose BPA, and second line high dose BPA
How is IGF-2 related to diabetes?
Increase local levels of IGF-2 in pancreases can cause beta cell dysfunction and makes the islets more vulnerable to damage and immune attack
In regards to melatonin levels, how were they different in rotating-night shift workers?
Melatonin levels were significantly dropped and shifted to the right (in comparison to regular circadian levels)
What did the shift worker paper see with Estradiol comparing day shift and rotating-night shift people?
There was a significant increase in the amount of circulating estradiol in women (double the amount)
What did the shift worker paper see with progesterone comparing day shift and rotating-night shift people?
There was a significant increase in the amount of circulating progesterone in women.
What did the shift worker paper see with testosterone comparing day shift and rotating-night shift people?
There was a significant decrease in the amount of testosterone circulating.
Was there a significant difference in the levels of cortisol in the shift worker paper?
No, there was no significant increase of decrease in the cortisol levels
What were the differences of levels of DHEA between the night shift workers and day shift workers? how is this relevant to breast cancer?
- There was a slight increase in DHEA levels that was significant
- Important because DHEA is the source that creates more androgens for target tissues
