Polychlorinated biphenyls disturb differentiation of normal human neural progenitor cells: clue for involvement of thyroid hormone receptors.

ABSTRACT: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are ubiquitous environmental chemicals that accumulate in adipose tissues over the food chain. Epidemiologic studies have indicated that PCBs influence brain development. Children who are exposed to PCBs during development suffer from neuropsychologic deficits such as a lower full-scale IQ (intelligence quotient), reduced visual recognition memory, and attention and motor deficits. The mechanisms leading to these effects are not fully understood. It has been speculated that PCBs may affect brain development by interfering with thyroid hormone (TH) signaling. Because most of the data are from animal studies, we established a model using primary normal human neural progenitor (NHNP) cells to determine if PCBs interfere with TH-dependent neural differentiation

SUBMITTER: Fritsche E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1257648 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature