Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group (BECO), Department of Biology , University of Antwerp , Universiteitsplein 1 , 2610 Wilrijk , Belgium.
Systemic Physiological and Ecotoxicologal Research (SPHERE), Department of Biology , University of Antwerp , Groenenborgerlaan 171 , 2020 Antwerp , Belgium.
Environ Sci Technol. 2019 Feb 5;53(3):1617-1626. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.8b05235. Epub 2019 Jan 22.
The ubiquity of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) contrasts with the limited information about their effects. We report here PFAA plasma concentrations in wild populations of great tits ( Parus major) settled at and in the vicinity of a fluorochemical plant in Antwerp (Belgium). Using two generations we obtained novel results on some poorly known issues such as differences between sexes, maternal transfer of the compounds and potential associations with the oxidative status. For five out of the 11 detected PFAAs, the concentrations were the highest ever reported in birds' plasma, which confirms that Antwerp is one of the main hotspots for PFAAs pollution. Contrary to other studies conducted in birds, we found that females presented higher mean concentrations and detection frequencies for two compounds (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA)) than males. Maternal transfer and the dietary intake appear to be the main route of exposure for nestlings to PFOS but not to other compounds. Finally, PFAA concentrations tended to correlate positively with protein damage in adult birds while in nestlings they positively correlated with higher activity of antioxidant enzymes (glutathione peroxidase and catalase). Experimental work is needed to confirm oxidative stress as a pathway for the pernicious effects of PFAAs.
全氟烷基酸（PFAAs）无处不在，但其影响的信息却很有限。我们在此报告了在安特卫普（比利时）的一家氟化学品厂及其附近定居的大山雀（ Parus major ）野生种群中的 PFAAs 血浆浓度。通过两代人的研究，我们获得了一些鲜为人知的问题的新结果，例如性别差异、化合物的母体转移以及与氧化状态的潜在关联。在所检测到的 11 种 PFAAs 中，有 5 种的浓度是鸟类血浆中从未有过的最高浓度，这证实了安特卫普是 PFAAs 污染的主要热点地区之一。与在鸟类中进行的其他研究相反，我们发现雌性的两种化合物（全氟辛烷磺酸（PFOS）和全氟十一烷酸（PFUnDA））的平均浓度和检出频率均高于雄性。母体转移和饮食摄入似乎是幼鸟接触 PFOS 的主要途径，但不是其他化合物的途径。最后，PFAAs 浓度与成年鸟类的蛋白质损伤呈正相关，而在幼鸟中则与抗氧化酶（谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶和过氧化氢酶）的更高活性呈正相关。需要进行实验工作来证实氧化应激是 PFAAs 产生有害影响的途径。
