PUBLICATION
Significant Variability in the Developmental Toxicity of Representative Perfluoroalkyl Acids as a Function of Chemical Speciation
- Authors
- Bai, Y., Wang, Q., Li, J., Zhou, B., Lam, P.K.S., Hu, C., Chen, L.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-231002-189
- Date
- 2023
- Source
- Environmental science & technology 57(40): 14904-14916 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Zhou, BingSheng
- Keywords
- albumin binding, bioaccumulation, chemical speciation, developmental toxicity, perfluoroalkyl acids, thyroidal endocrine disruption
- MeSH Terms
- none
- PubMed
- 37774144 Full text @ Env. Sci. Tech.
Citation
Bai, Y., Wang, Q., Li, J., Zhou, B., Lam, P.K.S., Hu, C., Chen, L. (2023) Significant Variability in the Developmental Toxicity of Representative Perfluoroalkyl Acids as a Function of Chemical Speciation. Environmental science & technology. 57(40):14904-14916.
Abstract
Current toxicological data of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are disparate under similar exposure scenarios. To find the cause of the conflicting data, this study examined the influence of chemical speciation on the toxicity of representative PFAAs, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorobutane carboxylic acid (PFBA), and perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS). Zebrafish embryos were acutely exposed to PFAA, PFAA salt, and a pH-negative control, after which the developmental impairment and mechanisms were explored. The results showed that PFAAs were generally more toxic than the corresponding pH control, indicating that the embryonic toxicity of PFAAs was mainly caused by the pollutants themselves. In contrast to the high toxicity of PFAAs, PFAA salts only exhibited mild hazards to zebrafish embryos. Fingerprinting the changes along the thyroidal axis demonstrated distinct modes of endocrine disruption for PFAAs and PFAA salts. Furthermore, biolayer interferometry monitoring found that PFOA and PFBS acids bound more strongly with albumin proteins than did their salts. Accordingly, the acid of PFAAs accumulated significantly higher concentrations than their salt counterparts. The present findings highlight the importance of chemical forms to the outcome of developmental toxicity, calling for the discriminative risk assessment and management of PFAAs and salts.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping