Department of Environmental Science, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences (RIBES), Faculty of Science, Radboud University, Nijmegen 6500, the Netherlands.
Laboratory of Evolutionary Ecophysiology, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel 2000, Switzerland.
Environ Sci Technol. 2024 Nov 5;58(44):19617-19626. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.4c04495. Epub 2024 Oct 23.
Several studies have reported an increasing occurrence of poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) in Arctic wildlife tissues, raising concerns due to their resistance to degradation. While some research has explored PFAS's physiological effects on birds, their impact on reproductive functions, particularly sperm quality, remains underexplored. This study aims to assess (1) potential association between PFAS concentrations in blood and sperm quality in black-legged kittiwakes (), focusing on the percentage of abnormal spermatozoa, sperm velocity, percentage of sperm motility, and morphology; and (2) examine the association of plasma levels of testosterone, corticosterone, and luteinizing hormone with both PFAS concentrations and sperm quality parameters to assess possible endocrine disrupting pathways. Our findings reveal a positive correlation between the concentration of longer-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCA; C11-C14) in blood and the percentage of abnormal sperm in kittiwakes. Additionally, we observed that two other PFAS (i.e., PFOSlin and PFNA), distinct from those associated with sperm abnormalities, were positively correlated with the stress hormone corticosterone. These findings emphasize the potentially harmful substance-specific effects of long-chain PFCAs on seabirds and the need for further research into the impact of pollutants on sperm quality as a potential additional detrimental effect on birds.
已有多项研究报告称，北极地区野生动物组织中的多氟和全氟烷基物质（PFAS）的含量不断增加，由于其难以降解，引发了人们的担忧。虽然一些研究已经探讨了 PFAS 对鸟类的生理影响，但它们对生殖功能的影响，特别是精子质量，仍未得到充分研究。本研究旨在评估：（1）在黑脚海鸥（）的血液和精子质量之间，PFAS 浓度是否存在潜在关联，重点关注异常精子的百分比、精子速度、精子活力百分比和形态；（2）检验血浆中睾丸激素、皮质醇和促黄体生成激素的水平与 PFAS 浓度和精子质量参数之间的关联，以评估可能存在的内分泌干扰途径。我们的研究结果表明，血液中长链全氟烷基羧酸（PFCA；C11-C14）的浓度与海鸥异常精子的百分比呈正相关。此外，我们还观察到另外两种与精子异常无关的 PFAS（即 PFOSlin 和 PFNA）与应激激素皮质醇呈正相关。这些发现强调了长链 PFCAs 对海鸟可能具有特定的有害物质效应，需要进一步研究污染物对精子质量的影响，因为这可能是对鸟类的另一种有害影响。
