Laboratory of Developmental Disorders and Toxicology, Center for Promotion of International Education and Research, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 8190395, Japan; Research Center for Pre-clinical and Clinical Medicine, National Research and Innovation Agency, Republic of Indonesia, Cibinong 16911, Indonesia.
School of Life Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Sci Total Environ. 2023 Dec 15;904:166833. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166833. Epub 2023 Sep 8.
Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) is a short-chain perfluoroalkyl substance widely used to replace the banned perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) in various industrial and household products. It can be found in the environment and human bodies; however, its potential toxicities are not well studied. Zebrafish have been extensively used as a model for studying toxicants, and currently, two studies have reported on the toxicity of PFHxS in zebrafish from different approaches. Ulhaq and Tse (J Hazard Mater. 2023; 457: 131722) conducted general biological experiments and applied transcriptomics to demonstrate that PFHxS at a concentration of 5 μM could affect glucose and fatty acid metabolism, leading to oxidative stress, developmental defects, and cell cycle arrest. Xu et al. (Sci Total Environ. 2023; 887: 163770) employed metabolomics and showed that concentrations of various metabolites changed after exposure to 3 and 10 μM PFHxS. As we observed a match between the metabolomics data and our biochemistry experimental findings, we integrated the two studies, which enabled us to unfold the possible mechanism of the deregulated metabolites. We identified 22 differential expressed genes (DEGs) in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, 17 DEGs in glcyolytic process, including the critical glucokinase under the carbon metabolism. Besides, genes likes aldehyde dehydrogenases, and histone-lysine N-methyltransferases that participate in lipid peroxidation and amino metabolism respectively were spotted. Lastly, we further strengthen our discoveries by undergoing the gene set enrichment analysis. This article could provide insights into the toxicity of PFHxS, as well as prospects for environmental studies.
全氟己烷磺酸（PFHxS）是一种短链全氟烷基物质，广泛用于替代各种工业和家用产品中已被禁止的全氟辛烷磺酸（PFOS）。它可以在环境和人体中被发现，但其潜在毒性尚未得到充分研究。斑马鱼已被广泛用作研究毒物的模型，目前有两项研究从不同角度报道了 PFHxS 对斑马鱼的毒性。Ulhaq 和 Tse（J Hazard Mater. 2023; 457: 131722）进行了一般生物学实验，并应用转录组学表明，浓度为 5 μM 的 PFHxS 可以影响葡萄糖和脂肪酸代谢，导致氧化应激、发育缺陷和细胞周期停滞。Xu 等人（Sci Total Environ. 2023; 887: 163770）采用代谢组学方法表明，暴露于 3 和 10 μM PFHxS 后，各种代谢物的浓度发生了变化。由于我们观察到代谢组学数据与我们的生物化学实验结果相吻合，因此我们整合了这两项研究，从而揭示了代谢物失调的可能机制。我们在三羧酸（TCA）循环中鉴定出 22 个差异表达基因（DEGs），在糖酵解过程中鉴定出 17 个 DEGs，包括碳代谢中的关键葡萄糖激酶。此外，还发现了参与脂质过氧化和氨基酸代谢的醛脱氢酶和组蛋白赖氨酸 N-甲基转移酶等基因。最后，我们通过进行基因集富集分析进一步加强了我们的发现。本文可以为 PFHxS 的毒性提供一些见解，并为环境研究提供一些展望。
