The toxicity of perfluorodecanoic acid is mainly manifested as a deflected immune function.

BACKGROUND

Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) is a type of perfluoroalkyl acid (PFAA). PFDA has toxicity similar to dioxin; its effect on the body is not through a single target or a single pathway. However, the mechanism at the global level is still unclear.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We treated mice with PFDA and characterized the global changes in gene expression in the liver using microarray analyses. The enriched KEGG pathways and GO analyses revealed that PFDA greatly affected the immune response, which was different from the response of gastric cells previously studied. As a proof of principle, the expressions of IL-1β and IL-18 were both decreased after PFDA treatment, and qRT-PCR and ELISAs verified the reduction of IL-1β and IL-18 in liver tissues. Mechanistic investigations indicated that PFDA inhibited caspase-1 activation, and decreased the mRNA levels of NLRP1, NLRP3, and NLRC4; thus, suggesting that inflammasome assemblies were suppressed. Further microarray data revealed that cIAP2 and its binding proteins, which are critical for regulating inflammasome assembly, were also repressed by PFDA. In addition, flow cytometry results revealed a significant inhibition of Th1 cell differentiation in the livers of PFDA-treated mice.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study suggested that one of the main toxic effects of PFDA on livers was the inhibition of immune response.