Lu Yao, Meng Lingyi, Ma Donghui, Cao Huiming, Liang Yong, Liu Hongwei, Wang Yawei, Jiang Guibin
State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China; Institute of Environment and Health, Jianghan University, Wuhan, 430056, China.
Environ Pollut. 2021 Jan 12;273:116460. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.116460.
Both legacy and emerging per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been found to be threats to human health. In particular, fetuses are sensitive to xenobiotics and the placenta functions as a significant barrier for environmental pollutants. The placental transfer of PFAS is closely related to their interactions with proteins. In this study, 54 human placental samples were collected to investigate the occurrence of legacy and emerging PFAS in human placenta, including perfluorinated carboxylates (PFCAs), perfluorinated sulfonates (PFSAs), chlorinated polyfluoroalkyl ether sulfonic acids (Cl-PFESAs), and fluorotelomer sulfonates (FTSAs). Among the legacy PFAS, perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) were detected in all samples, with PFOS and PFOA being the two predominant (mean: 0.457 and 0.242 ng/g wet weight, respectively). Among the emerging PFAS, 6:2 Cl-PFESA was detected in all samples with the mean value of 0.104 ng/g wet weight, while the detect frequency (DF) of 8:2 Cl-PFESAs was only 24%. The concentration and DF of the four FTSA congeners were low in the placentas. Molecular docking calculation results showed that the binding affinities of PFAS to the human serum albumin (HSA) were increased with chain length in each category except for the PFCAs, of which the perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA) was the turning point of binding affinity to HSA. For PFSAs, their binding affinities to organic anion transporter 4 (OAT4) were increased with the chain length except for the sodium perfluoro-1-heptanesulfonate (PFHpS) and sodium perfluoro-1-nonanesulfonate (PFNS). The calculation results demonstrated that the placental transfer of PFAS is closely related to chain length. The findings in the study can help better understand the occurrence of the PFAS in the human placenta and the placental transfer mechanisms of PFAS in human beings.
已发现传统和新出现的全氟和多氟烷基物质（PFAS）均对人类健康构成威胁。特别是，胎儿对异种生物敏感，而胎盘是环境污染物的重要屏障。PFAS的胎盘转运与其与蛋白质的相互作用密切相关。在本研究中，收集了54份人胎盘样本，以调查人胎盘中传统和新出现的PFAS的存在情况，包括全氟羧酸盐（PFCA）、全氟磺酸盐（PFSA）、氯化多氟烷基醚磺酸（Cl-PFESA）和氟调聚物磺酸盐（FTSA）。在传统PFAS中，所有样本均检测到全氟辛烷磺酸（PFOS）、全氟辛酸（PFOA）和全氟壬酸（PFNA），其中PFOS和PFOA是两种主要成分（平均值分别为0.457和0.242 ng/g湿重）。在新出现的PFAS中，所有样本均检测到6:2 Cl-PFESA，平均值为0.104 ng/g湿重，而8:2 Cl-PFESA的检测频率（DF）仅为24%。四种FTSA同系物在胎盘中的浓度和DF较低。分子对接计算结果表明，除PFCA外，各类PFAS与人血清白蛋白（HSA）的结合亲和力均随链长增加而增加，其中全氟十一烷酸（PFUnDA）是与HSA结合亲和力的转折点。对于PFSA，除全氟-1-庚烷磺酸钠（PFHpS）和全氟-1-壬烷磺酸钠（PFNS）外，它们与有机阴离子转运体4（OAT4）的结合亲和力随链长增加而增加。计算结果表明，PFAS的胎盘转运与链长密切相关。该研究结果有助于更好地了解PFAS在人胎盘中的存在情况以及PFAS在人体中的胎盘转运机制。
