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Dual action of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha in perfluorodecanoic acid-induced hepatotoxicity

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Abstract

Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) is widely used in production of many daily necessities based on their surface properties and stability. It was assigned as a Persistent Organic Pollutant in 2009 and became a public concern partly because of its potential for activation of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα). In this study, wild-type and Ppara-null mice were administered PFDA (80 mg/kg). Blood and liver tissues were collected and subjected to systemic toxicological and mechanistic analysis. UPLC-ESI-QTOFMS-based metabolomics was used to explore the contributing components of the serum metabolome that led to variation between wild-type and Pparα-null mice. Bile acid homeostasis was disrupted, and slight hepatocyte injury in wild-type mice accompanied by adaptive regulation of bile acid synthesis and transport was observed. The serum metabolome in wild-type clustered differently from that in Pparα-null, featured by sharp increases in bile acid components. Differential toxicokinetic tendency was supported by regulation of UDP-glucuronosyltransferases dependent on PPARα, but it did not contribute to the hepatotoxic responses. Increase in Il-10 and activation of the JNK pathway indicated inflammation was induced by disruption of bile acid homeostasis in wild-type mice. Inhibition of p-p65 dependent on PPARα activation by PFDA stopped the inflammatory cascade, as indicated by negative response of Il-6, Tnf-α, and STAT3 signaling. These data suggest disruptive and protective role of PPARα in hepatic responses induced by PFDA.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant 81273582, 81302848], Public Projects of Zhejiang Province (2015C37110, 2015R405055), K.C.Wong Magna Fund in Ningbo University and the National Cancer Institute Intramural Research Program.

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Correspondence to Aiming Liu.

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204_2016_1779_MOESM1_ESM.tif

Supplementary Figure 1 Analysis of total bile acid (TBA) and toxicological responses in livers of wild-type (WT) and Pparα-null (KO) mice treated with PFDA. a Effect of PFDA (40 mg/kg, 80 mg/kg) on serum TBA in WT mice. b Serum TBA level of on days 0, 3, 5, 7, 10 in WT and KO mice, PFDA (80 mg/kg). c, d Activity of serum ALP and ALT, PFDA (80 mg/kg). Data were expressed as mean ± SD (n = 5; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001) (TIFF 567 kb)

204_2016_1779_MOESM2_ESM.tif

Supplementary Figure 2 Identification of tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) by fragmentation profile and retention time on UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS. a Total ion count (TIC) chromatogram of MS 498.29 of PFDA-treated wild-type (WT) mouse serum sample when fragmentation was performed. b MS/MS spectra of the peak with retention time 3.809 in WT mouse serum in panel a. c TIC chromatogram of authentic TUDCA when fragmentation performed at MS 498.29. D, MS/MS spectra of the peak with retention time 3.80 in panel c. (TIFF 594 kb)

204_2016_1779_MOESM3_ESM.tif

Supplementary Figure 3 Identification of TCA by fragmentation profile and retention time on UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS. a Total ion count (TIC) chromatogram of MS 514.28 of PFDA-treated wild-type (WT) mouse serum sample when fragmentation was performed. b MS/MS spectra of the peak of WT mouse serum sample with retention time 3.83 in panel a. c, TIC chromatogram of authentic TCA when fragmentation was performed at MS 514.28. d MS/MS spectra of the peak with retention time 3.86 in panel c (TIFF 448 kb)

204_2016_1779_MOESM4_ESM.tif

Supplementary Figure 4 Identification of tauro-α-muricholic (Tα/β/ωMCA) by fragmentation profile and retention time on UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS. a Total ion count (TIC) chromatogram of MS 514.28 of PFDA-treated wild-type (WT) mouse serum sample when fragmentation performed. b MS/MS spectra of the peak of with retention time 3.45 in WT mouse serum in panel a. c, TIC chromatogram of authentic TαMCA when fragmentation was performed at MS 514.28. d MS/MS spectra of the peak with retention time 3.41 in panel c (TIFF 474 kb)

Supplementary material 5 (DOCX 13 kb)

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Luo, M., Tan, Z., Dai, M. et al. Dual action of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha in perfluorodecanoic acid-induced hepatotoxicity. Arch Toxicol 91, 897–907 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-016-1779-7

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