Disruption of blastocyst implantation by triclosan in mice: Impacts of repeated and acute doses and combination with bisphenol-A

Triclosan is an antimicrobial additive in many personal care and household products, and evidence indicates that it can be estrogenic. As estrogen elevations can disrupt blastocyst implantation, we examined the influence of triclosan on implantation in inseminated mice. Doses of 18 and 27 mg/animal/day (about 523 and 785 mg/kg/day) on gestational days (GD) 1–3 reduced the number of implantation sites on GD 6. Single doses on GD 2 or 3 also reduced implantation sites. Subsequently, we examined triclosan in combination with bisphenol-A (BPA), which also can disrupt implantation. Although doses of 4 mg BPA (122 mg/kg) and 9 mg triclosan (262 mg/kg) on GD 1–3 were individually ineffective, in combination they reduced the number of implantation sites and also increased gestation length. All of these effects mimicked stronger effects of 17β-estradiol. These data are consistent with potential estrogenic properties of triclosan, and show that it can act together with BPA.

► Pregnant mice were exposed to triclosan around the time of implantation.
► High repeated doses of triclosan reduced the number of implantation sites.
► Single doses of triclosan also reduced the number of implantation sites.
► Subthreshold doses of triclosan impeded implantation when combined with BPA.
► Combinations of triclosan and BPA also increased gestation length.