Human meiotic progression and recombination are affected by Bisphenol A exposure during in vitro human oocyte development

Abstract

Our findings show that BPA concentrations of 1 µM or higher decrease the survival of human fetal oocytes in vitro, and concentrations of 10 µM or higher increase MLH1 foci number. MLH1 is considered a CO marker, and thus an increase in MLH1 foci could indicate an increase in COs in BPA-exposed oocytes. These data suggest that BPA can act as a toxic substance, which has particular implications for human females and the critical events of meiotic prophase, such as pairing-synapsis and recombination processes, as well as oocyte survival.