Figure 2.

BPA exposure in drinking water increases pericarditis in female BALB/c mice housed in plastic cages. Female BALB/c mice housed in plastic cages with no soy in food or bedding were given increasing doses of BPA in drinking water for 2 weeks and injected with 10³ PFU CVB3 ip on day 0 and pericarditis examined at day 10 pi during acute myocarditis. BPA exposure continued from day 0 to 10 pi. Pericarditis was assessed as the % pericardial inflammation in the heart with H&E compared to the overall size of the heart section by histology using an eyepiece grid. (A) Data show the mean ± SEM (0 μg BPA/kg n = 10, 0.5 μg BPA/kg n = 9, 5 μg BPA/kg n = 9, 50 μg BPA/kg n = 10). One-way ANOVA found a significant difference existed between groups (p = 0.002). After controlling for multiple comparisons, the 5 and 50 μg BPA/kg BW groups were significantly different than 0 BPA control water (*p < 0.05 and ***p < 0.001, respectively). (B) Female BALB/c mice were housed in glass or plastic cages with glass or plastic water bottles and no soy in food or bedding for 2 weeks prior to ip infection with CVB3 to induce myocarditis. The drinking water did not contain BPA. Data show the mean ± SEM (glass n = 10, plastic n = 10). Two-tailed Student's t-test found no significant difference between groups. Representative photos depict (C) 0 BPA and (D) 50 μg BPA/kg BW, bar 200 μm, magnification 100x, arrows point to outer pericardial layer of the heart.