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Comparative hepatotoxicity of 6:2 fluorotelomer carboxylic acid and 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonic acid, two fluorinated alternatives to long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids, on adult male mice

  • Organ Toxicity and Mechanisms
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Abstract

Due to their structural similarities, 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonic acid (6:2 FTSA) and 6:2 fluorotelomer carboxylic acid (6:2 FTCA) are often used as alternatives to perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), respectively. With limited health risk data and 6:2 FTSA detection in water and sludge, the toxicity of these chemicals is of growing concern. Here, adult male mice were exposed with 5 mg/kg/day of 6:2 FTCA or 6:2 FTSA for 28 days to investigate their hepatotoxicological effects. In contrast to 6:2 FTCA, 6:2 FTSA was detected at high and very high levels in serum and liver, respectively, demonstrating bioaccumulation potential and slow elimination. Furthermore, 6:2 FTSA induced liver weight increase, inflammation, and necrosis, whereas 6:2 FTCA caused no obvious liver injury, with fewer significantly altered genes detected compared with that of 6:2 FTSA (39 vs. 412). Although PFOA and PFOS commonly activate peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα), 6:2 FTSA induced an increase in PPARγ and related proteins, but not in lipid metabolism-related genes such as PPARα. Our results showed that 6:2 FTCA and 6:2 FTSA exhibited weak and moderate hepatotoxicity, respectively, compared with that reported for legacies PFOA and PFOS.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB14040202) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants 31320103915, 21377128 and 21421002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, People’s Republic of China

    Nan Sheng, Xiujuan Zhou, Fei Zheng, Yitao Pan & Jiayin Dai

  2. State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Department of Histology and Embryology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, People’s Republic of China

    Xuejiang Guo

  3. Key Laboratory of Organofluorine Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai, 200032, People’s Republic of China

    Yong Guo & Yan Sun

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  1. Nan Sheng
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  2. Xiujuan Zhou
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  4. Yitao Pan
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Correspondence to Jiayin Dai.

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Sheng, N., Zhou, X., Zheng, F. et al. Comparative hepatotoxicity of 6:2 fluorotelomer carboxylic acid and 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonic acid, two fluorinated alternatives to long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids, on adult male mice. Arch Toxicol 91, 2909–2919 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-016-1917-2

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