Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University (Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research), No. 1838 North Guangzhou Road, 510515 Guangzhou, China.
Department of Forensic Pathology, School of Forensic Medicine, Southern Medical University, No. 1838 North Guangzhou Road, 510515 Guangzhou, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Jan 10;907:168059. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168059. Epub 2023 Oct 24.
Ammonium perfluoro (2-methyl-3-oxahexanoate) (GenX), a replacement for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), has been detected in multiple environmental media and biological samples worldwide. Accumulated evidence implies that GenX exposure might exert adverse health effects, although the underlying mechanisms have not been fully revealed. In this study, pregnant BALB/c mice were exposed to GenX (2 mg/kg/day), PFOA (1 mg/kg/day), or Milli-Q water by gavage from the first day of gestation (GD0) until GD21. Necropsy and tissue collection were conducted in pups at 4 weeks of age. PFOA and GenX induced similar histopathological changes in both the liver and the intestinal mucosa, accompanied by higher serum levels of alanine and aspartate aminotransferase. Moreover, the capacity of hepatic glycogen storage and intestinal mucus secretion were significantly decreased, suggesting dysfunction of liver metabolism and the intestinal mucosal barrier. A total of 637 and 352 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the liver tissues of GenX and PFOA group, respectively. Most of the enriched pathways from the DEGs by KEGG enrichment analysis were metabolism-associated. Moreover, overexpression of CYP4A14, Sult2a1, Cpt1b, Acaa1b, Igfbp1, Irs-2 and decreased expression of Gys2 were observed in livers of GenX exposed pups, supporting the hypothesis that there was metabolic disruption. Furthermore, DNA damage and cell cycle arrest proteins (Gadd45β, p21, Ppard) were significantly increased, while cell proliferation-related proteins (Cyclin E, Myc, EGFR) were decreased by gestational GenX exposure in the pups' liver. In addition, imbalance of gut microbiota and dysfunction of the intestinal mucosa barrier might contribute to hepatotoxicity at least in part. Taken together, our results suggested that gestational GenX exposure triggered metabolic disorder, which might be responsible for the hepatotoxicity in the pups in addition to dysfunction of the intestinal mucosa barrier. This study enriches the mechanisms of GenX-induced developmental hepatotoxicity by associating metabolic disorder with intestinal homeostasis.
全氟 2-甲基-3-氧杂己酸铵(GenX)是全氟辛酸(PFOA)的替代品,已在世界各地的多种环境介质和生物样本中检测到。越来越多的证据表明,GenX 暴露可能会产生不良健康影响,尽管其潜在机制尚未完全揭示。在这项研究中,从妊娠第一天(GD0)到 GD21,通过灌胃向怀孕的 BALB/c 小鼠给予 GenX(2mg/kg/天)、PFOA(1mg/kg/天)或 Milli-Q 水。在 4 周龄时对幼仔进行尸检和组织采集。PFOA 和 GenX 在肝脏和肠黏膜中均引起类似的组织病理学变化,同时血清丙氨酸和天冬氨酸转氨酶水平升高。此外,肝糖原储存和肠黏液分泌的能力显著降低,提示肝代谢和肠黏膜屏障功能障碍。在 GenX 和 PFOA 组的肝组织中分别鉴定出 637 个和 352 个差异表达基因(DEGs)。KEGG 富集分析中 DEGs 的大多数富集途径与代谢有关。此外,在 GenX 暴露的幼仔肝脏中观察到 CYP4A14、Sult2a1、Cpt1b、Acaa1b、Igfbp1、Irs-2 表达上调和 Gys2 表达下调,支持存在代谢紊乱的假说。此外,在幼仔的肝脏中,DNA 损伤和细胞周期停滞蛋白(Gadd45β、p21、PPard)显著增加,而细胞增殖相关蛋白(Cyclin E、Myc、EGFR)减少。此外,肠道微生物群失衡和肠黏膜屏障功能障碍可能至少部分导致肝毒性。总之,我们的研究结果表明,妊娠期 GenX 暴露引发代谢紊乱,这可能是导致幼仔肝毒性的原因之一,除了肠黏膜屏障功能障碍外。本研究通过将代谢紊乱与肠道稳态联系起来,丰富了 GenX 诱导的发育性肝毒性的机制。